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LEADING FIGURES 



IN 



EUROPEAN HISTORY 



> 



BY 



Rl' P. DUNN PATTISON, M. A. 

AUTHOR OF 'napoleon's MARSHALS* 
'EDWARD THE BLACK PRINCE,' ETC. 



NEW YORK 
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

I 9 I 2 



]]lO(s> 

.Hi 






PREFACE 

There are many people who, while genuinely 
interested in history, have never, either from want 
of time or opportunity, read a consecutive history 
of Europe. They have a general idea of certain 
periods like the Renaissance, the Reformation, 
and the Revolution. With these epochs they 
connect the names of certain great men which 
are practically on everybody's lips : but, when 
they come to think about it, they find they have 
a very shadowy idea of their lives and characters. 

It was suggested to me that here lay a want 
which might be supplied by means of a book 
containing a series of biographies which more 
or less covered the whole of European history. 

Consequently, in writing this book my object 
has been to present to the general reader, and 
to the student busily engaged with other subjects, 
a succession of sketches of the leading figures 
of the past, illustrating the growth of ideas 
and principles which have contributed to form 
present-day Europe. 



IV LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

Many of these names, such as Charlemagne, 
Luther and Napoleon, are household words. 
Others, like Richard the Fearless and Charles iv., 
are barely known save to students. These latter 
have been introduced because they are typical of 
periods of decadence or of quiet growth which, 
in their own way, are quite as important in the 
life of the European family as the more stirring 
times of revolution and war. Many great names 
are missing because their lives were more or less 
contemporary with those of others whom I have 
chosen ; or because, belonging to English history, 
they were excluded from the scope of this work. 

I have made no reference to authorities, be- 
cause this is intended to be a popular and not a 
learned book. Those who desire to read wider 
biographies of my heroes should consult either 
'The Heroes of the Nations Series' or 'The 
Foreign Statesmen Series.' For the general 
purpose of an introduction to European History 
there are Periods of European History, The 
Cambridge Modern History, and a most excellent 
work in French by Lavisse et Rambeaud. All 
these works contain bibliographies for deeper 
research. 

The reader will find that this book commences 
with a slight sketch of the history of Europe from 



PREFACE V 

the time of the Roman Empire to Charlemagne ; 
and that each of the succeeding chapters contains 
the life of a hero. The first few pages are 
occupied in showing his connection with the 
past, and the last few in summing up what he 
had done for the age in which he lived. 

I hope I have said enough to make it clear to 
the reader what he should expect in this work. 
It remains for me to thank Captain A. J. Camp- 
bell of Bishopstawton and Mr. W. N. Weech, 
Headmaster of Sedberg, for their great kindness 
and assistance, also Mr. H. G. Stow of Braunton, 
for reading my proofs. 

KiLBOWIE, 

Braunton, May 19 12. 



CONTENTS 

FAGE 

INTRODUCTION: EUROPE AFTER THE Fall 

OF THE Roman Empire . . . . i 

CHARLEMAGNE : The Re-establishment of the 

Empire of the West . . , .15 

RICHARD THE FEARLESS : The Weakness of 

THE Empire and the Growth of Feudalism . 39 

HILDEBRAND, POPE GREGORY VII. : 

The Attempt to set up a Theocracy . . 58 

PHILIP AUGUSTUS : The Growth of National 

Kingdoms ...... 87 

FREDERIC II. : The Final Struggle between 

THE Empire and the Papacy . . .114 

CHARLES IV. : The MEDiiEVAL Empire limited 

to Germany ...... 144 

LORENZO DE' MEDICI : The Renaissance . 165 

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS: The Discovery 



190 
215 



OF THE New World ..... 
MARTIN LUTHER : The Reformation 
PHILIP II.: The Counter Reformation . . 245 

GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS : The Thirty Years' War 274 
LOUIS XIV.: The Supremacy of France . . 301 



viii LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 



FREDERIC THE GREAT : The Rise of Prussia 
NAPOLEON : The Revolution and Europe 
CAVOUR : The Realisation of Italian Unity 
BISMARCK : The Modern German Empire 
INDEX 



PAGE 
391 

453 



INTRODUCTION 

Go where you will over the Lowlands of Scotland or 
England, or in western Europe over the countries south 
of the Danube, you will seldom find a district that cannot 
boast of Roman remains. Here is a magnificent aqueduct ; 
there a vast amphitheatre ; at one place are sumptuous 
baths, with plumbing work that is still a pattern in these 
modern days ; at another the ruins of some huge villa, its 
tessellated pavements and artistic remains the delight of 
all connoisseurs. All along the boundaries of this area 
you see mighty fortifications and the remains of fortresses, 
and inside a network of cleverly designed strategic roads. 
A glance at an ancient atlas will show you that the Roman 
Empire stretched from the Atlantic to the Rhine, from 
the Danube to the Sahara, from the Black Sea to the 
Desert of Arabia. Historians will tell you that by the 
third century, within these hmits there was but one code 
of law, that all free inhabitants — after the Edict of Cara- 
calla — had equal rights before the law; all were in the 
fullest sense Roman citizens ; that, in a word, within 
the civilised world there was, for all intents and purposes, 
one state and one people. 

When you remember all this you will find it difficult 
to realise how such a vast and magnificently organised 
state fell before the incursion of the hordes of barbarians, 
whose civilisation was as much below that of Rome as is 
the Afghan below that of England in the present day. 
The reasons, however, are not far to seek. The mighty 

A 



2 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

Roman Empire had lived upon itself; emperor had 
opposed emperor ; civil war had eaten out the heart of the 
empire. Heavy taxation had brought about small families, 
and this race-suicide had been hastened by the devastation 
of great plagues. Meanwhile luxury had sapped energy : 
the practice of arms was no longer a national duty. The 
legions were full of barbarians, mere mercenaries, who 
often drifted home to show their fellow tribes the weak- 
ness of the Roman power. The frontiers were defended 
by an arrangement whereby the barbarians of Africa were 
sent to serve on the Danube or in Britain, while Britons 
and Teutons were sent to Africa and Spain. But there 
was no real national army to reinforce these frontier 
guards. The only troops retained at the seat of empire 
were the Jovians and Herculians, forming the emperor's 
bodyguard. As the emperor's power became more 
despotic the upper classes — as in France in the eighteenth 
century — were deprived to a great extent of political work : 
removed thus from the sphere of local and imperial politics, 
they became mere flunkeys at the emperor's court, while 
the machinery of government was worked by a close 
bureaucracy. Thus it was that, when the swarm of 
barbarians swept away the few highly trained legionaries, 
there was no one to organise local defence, and the mass 
of the population, enervated by years of bad government, 
fell a spiritless and docile prey to their new masters. 

The more far-seeing emperors had recognised that the 
burden of empire was too heavy for one man, but they 
were powerless to introduce a new regime without demolish- 
ing their own power. Diocletian, indeed, in 303, had 
attempted to lighten the task of the emperor by associat- 
ing three colleagues with himself. It was his intention 
that each of the two seniors should have the title of 
Augustus, and the two juniors should bear that of Caesar ; 
when a vacancy occurred among the Augusti the senior 



INTRODUCTION 3 

Caesar would be promoted. Thus he hoped to secure a 
succession of trained emperors. One Augustus was 
appointed to Italy and one to the East, while one Caesar 
took the Danube, and the other the Rhine. Such a system, 
unfortunately, except in the case of very exceptional 
men, was bound to lead to the break up of the empire or 
to civil war. In 330 the Emperor Constantine, finding 
Italy too much exposed to barbarian inroads, moved the 
seat of empire from Rome to his newly chosen site on 
theBosphorus, where stood the old Greek city of Byzantium. 
This strategic post on the lines of communication between 
Europe and the rich lands of Asia, was out of the track of 
the barbarian invaders from the North. Moreover, it 
brought the emperor into close communication with the 
sturdy peasantry of the uplands of Asia Minor, who pro- 
duced the most famous soldiers within the eastern limits 
of the empire. It was to bind these soldiers to his cause 
that Constantine adopted Christianity as the state religion. 
For the next one hundred and thirty years there were 
usually two emperors, one at Constantinople, the other in 
Italy; though, latterly, the Emperor of the West was 
merely the coadjutor of the Emperor of the East. Mean- 
while, stream after stream of barbarians, Goths, Vandals, 
Huns and Burgundians, swept over the West. Save for 
the Huns all these tribes came rather to possess than to 
destroy. The Vandals occupied north-west Africa, the 
Visigoths Spain, the Ostrogoths Italy, and the Burgun- 
dians central France ; gradually they formed for them- 
selves new states. The contact with the empire affected 
them in three distinct ways. First, they practically all 
accepted Christianity ; but all were tainted with the 
heresy of Arius. They could not conceive of our Lord 
as perfect God and perfect man, and they denied His 
divinity. Secondly, they assimilated as much as they 
could of the civilisation of the empire. Above all they 



4 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

were influenced to an extraordinary degree by Roman 
Law, so that they replaced to a great extent their old 
tribal customs by the law of the conquered ; their greatest 
chieftains issued codes based on the Law of Rome. 

Neither the conquered Romans nor their barbarian 
conquerors believed that the Roman Empire could really 
perish. ' When Rome the head of the world shall have 
fallen,' wrote Lactantius, ' who can doubt that the end is 
come of human things, aye, of the earth itself ? ' The 
Gothic chieftain's aim was to become an official of the 
empire. Athaulf, the brother of Alaric, wrote, ' When 
experience taught me that the untamable barbarism of 
the Goths could not suffer them to live beneath the 
sway of law, and the abolition of the institutions in which 
the state rested would involve the ruin of the state 
itself, I chose the glory of renewing and maintaining by 
Gothic strength the fame of Rome.' 

Thus it was that in spite of the capture of Rome by 
Alaric in 410, it was not till the year 476 that the last 
Emperor of the West disappeared. In that year, by the 
advice of his barbarian supporters, the boy-emperor, 
Romulus, nicknamed Augustulus, surrendered to Zeno of 
Constantinople the title and insignia of the empire. 
The empire of the West became reabsorbed in that of 
the East, and Italy was ruled by Scyrrian and Ostro- 
gothic kings bearing the title of Roman Patricians, 
nominally acknowledging the suzerainty of Constantinople. 

Some sixty years later Justinian, the great Emperor 
of the East, made an effort to reconquer the lost posses- 
sion of Italy ; his generals, Belisarius and Narses, met with 
such success that for fifteen years the whole of Italy was 
regained. But in 568 a new swarm of invaders, the 
Lombards, came in from the north-east. Still, for the next 
two centuries Ravenna, Rome, Naples and Calabria re- 
mained a part of the empire. 



INTRODUCTION 5 

Though the Lombard invasion thus checked the re- 
estabhshment of the empire in Italy, strange to say, it 
was one of the chief causes whereby the idea of the unity 
of Christendom was furthered. The pre-eminence of the 
Bishop of Rome dates from the moment of the dechne 
of the western empire ; there can be but Httle doubt 
that if, at the end of the seventh century, Italy had been 
definitely regained by the eastern empire, the history of 
the Papacy would have been very different from what it 
is. During the first three centuries of the Christian era 
the Patriarchs of Antioch, Jerusalem, Alexandria and 
Carthage were as important as, in fact more important 
than, the Bishop of Rome. At the time of the Council 
of Nicaea, and in the disputes which centred round the 
name of Athanasius, the Bishop of Rome was only be- 
ginning to stand out above his fellow Metropolitans. It 
was not the mythical donations of the dominion of the 
West to Sylvester i. by Const antine the Great, but the 
strong action of Julius i. in defending Athanasius, and the 
expelled bishops of Constantinople and Adrianople, against 
the semi-Arians, that definitely placed the Roman bishop 
at the head of the western churches ; while the withdrawal 
of the seat of the empire of the West to Milan, Pavia or 
Ravenna, left the Bishop of Rome the greatest authority 
in the old Imperial City. 

The action of the various popes, notably Leo i. (440), in 
defending the city against the barbarians, added immensely 
to the prestige of the papal office. So much so that Leo 
protested against a decree of the Council of Chalcedon, which 
placed the see of Constantinople next to that of Rome 
— giving it pre-eminence over the sees of Antioch and 
Alexandria — on the ground that Rome was supreme and 
there could be no second to her. In this no doubt he was 
right, for Rome was busily engaged in winning the 
barbarians to the Christian faith, while Constantinople 



6 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

and the churches of the East were fully occupied with 
the subtle question as to the true nature of our Lord. 
Hence it was that, in spite of their Arianism, the many 
conquerors of the West regarded the Bishop of Rome as 
their spiritual head and the personification of the unity 
of Christendom. The bishops of Rome, from their jealousy 
of those of Constantinople, looked to the barbarian rulers 
of Italy, such as Odoacer and even Theodoric, for support, 
and acquiesced in their supervision of papal elections. 
It was thanks to the genius of Gregory I., who became 
bishop in 590, that Rome for long withstood the assaults 
of the Lombards. Without consulting the imperial exarch 
Gregory actually entered into treaties with the Lombard 
dukes ; gradually, through his influence, the whole of the 
Lombard tribes became converted to the Christian faith. 
His missionary efforts were not confined to Italy, and we 
have to thank him for the introduction of Christianity 
into southern Britain by Augustine. It was also through 
his influence that Spain was won over to the Catholic 
faith and her king Reccared converted from Arianism. 
In spite of the many shortcomings of his successors, the 
Roman see never entirely lost the temporal and spiritual 
predominance that he had gained for it. 

While the sixth century witnessed in Italy the pheno- 
menon of the gradual extension of the spiritual and the 
temporal power of the Papacy, in the north a new dominion 
was springing up into existence, which, together with the 
Papacy, was to be the controlling influence in Europe for 
many centuries. The Franks were a section of the Teu- 
tonic race which, in the advance westwards, had settled 
part in Flanders, Artois and Picardy, and part along the 
banks of the Rhine from Maintz to Cologne and on the 
Moselle from Coblentz to Metz. The northern sections of 
this confederacy were known as the Salian, the southern as 
the Ripuarian Franks. In the year 481, Clovis, a petty king 



INTRODUCTION 7 

of the Salians, came to the throne of Tournai, and, after 
a reign of thirty years, gained for himself the sovereignty 
over all Franks, subduing to his rule three-fourths of 
France, the Rhine valley, and a gf eat part of south-western 
Germany. By the year 535, his sons had actually estab- 
lished an overlordship of the Bavarians, and pushed their 
frontiers into Italy to the valley of the Adige. The 
Roman pontiff was glad to seek an ally in Clovis ; for the 
Franks, the last invaders in the field, were not tainted by 
the heresy of Arianism. This alliance between the Frankish 
king and Roman bishop was to bear much fruit in the future. 
But Clovis' premature empire had within itself no latent 
strength ; it depended not on organisation and law, but 
on the force and vitality of its rulers. The house of the 
Merovings, divided against itself and sapped by luxury 
and excess, was unable to bear the burden of em- 
pire after the second generation. Gradually its outlying 
possessions fell into the hands of their former rulers, pro- 
vincials, like the Dukes of Aquitaine and Provence, or 
native Bavarian or Burgundian chiefs. Even Frankland 
became divided into what was known as Neustria, that 
is, Flanders, Champagne, Normandy and central France 
as far as the Loire, and Austrasia, the territory of the Rhine 
and the Moselle. Each division was ruled by a Meroving, 
the holder of Neustria usually claiming supremacy. 
Dagobert I., who died in 635, was the last of the race to 
display royal energy. After him they reigned, but did 
not govern : few lived beyond the age of twenty-five, and 
gradually all the royal authority fell into the hands of the 
chief officer called the * Mayor of the Palace.' This 
official was the power behind the king as, in our own day, 
the shogun was the power behind the mikado, or the 
grand vizir the power behind the sultan. In Neustria 
the office did not become hereditary, being usually filled 
by one of the great nobles ; but in Austrasia, about the 



8 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

year 615, there arose a Mayor of the Palace, whom we 
know as Pippin of Landen : his daughter married the 
son of his great friend St. Arnulf, Bishop of Metz. 

The Frankish history of the seventh and eighth centuries 
is but a record of how this family gradually made the office 
of Mayor of the Palace a hereditary possession. There 
was a futile attempt at usurping the kingship in 656, but 
it was almost a hundred years later that, in 750, the then 
Mayor of the Palace, another Pippin, deposed the last roi 
faineant, and, with the authority of Pope Zacharias, pro- 
claimed himself King of the Franks. As the Chronicle 
puts it, ' Pope Zacharias therefore answered their ' 
(Pippin's emissaries) ' question, that it seemed more ex- 
pedient to him, that he should be called and be king, who 
had power in the kingdom, rather than he who was falsely 
called king. Therefore, the aforesaid pope commanded 
the king and people of the Franks, that Pippin, who exer- 
cised the royal power should be called king and placed 
on the royal seat, which was accordingly done by the 
anointing of the holy Archbishop Boniface (the West 
Saxon) in the city of Soissons. Pippin is called king, 
and Childeric, who falsely bears that title, receives the 
tonsure and is sent into a monastery.' 

While, in the West, the important circumstance of the 
seventh century is the rise of the house of St. Arnulf to 
power among the Franks in alliance with the Papacy, 
in the East the emperor at Constantinople was faced by 
a religious convulsion, which shook the very foundations 
of his power. This phenomenon, even to the present day, 
is still to a great extent the dominating factor in the politics 
of Asia and northern Africa. The prophet of this new 
religion was Mohammed, the son of Abdullah, who preached 
to the northern tribes of Arabia a rigid Unitarian creed 
and a reformation of morals. At first the new prophet 
met with but little success. The year 622 saw his flight 



INTRODUCTION 9 

from Mecca, the famous ' Hijrah,' the event from which all 
Moslem history takes its date. But within ten years from 
the Hijrah Mohammed had converted all Arabia. His 
success was largely won by pandering to the habits and 
superstitions of his fellow tribesmen, hence a spirit of self- 
indulgence entered into his teaching which was fatal to 
its purity as a religion. Mohammed promised his followers 
in this world the goods of their enemies, and in the world 
to come a heaven of gross sensual enjojmient. He preached 
the extirpation of all unbelievers, and the sure possession 
of this voluptuous heaven by all killed in warfare against 
those whom he was pleased to term the infidels. The 
fatalism of the East, which was absorbed into Moham- 
medanism, supplied an invincible but short-lived driving 
power. Hence Islam became the religion of the warrior 
tribes of the East, and as an aggressive agent it stands 
unrivalled in the chronicles of the world. Scarcely had 
the prophet died when, in 633, his successor, Abu Bekr, 
led forth from the wilds of Arabia two armies to conquer 
Persia for Islam. With the cry from their leaders ' Paradise 
is before you, the devil and hell fire behind you,' the 
Moslem fanatics overthrew the army of the eastern 
empire at Hieromax (Yermak) in the summer of 634. 
By 640 they had conquered all Syria, and threatening 
Asia Minor were crossing the desert of Suez to invade 
Egypt. Pushing along the southern shore of the Medi- 
terranean they subdued all northern Africa, and crossing 
to Spain, in the year 711, they so completely overwhelmed 
the Visigothic kingdom, that practically nothing is known 
of the last hundred years of its existence. By 713, the 
Moslems were rulers of the whole of Spain, except along 
the mountainous coast of the Bay of Biscay, where the 
Basques and the Visigothic highlanders of Asturias re- 
tained a precarious liberty. 

It seemed for a time as if western Europe was to fall 



10 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

before the Moslems. By 720, they had subdued the pro- 
vince of Narbonne or Septimannia, and, in 725, they pene- 
trated as far as Autun, in the heart of Burgundy. What 
was more ominous, they found an ally in Eudo, the provincial 
Duke of Aquitaine. But the sword of Charles Martel, 
the father of King Pippin, and the treachery of the Moslems, 
taught Duke Eudo the foohshness of such an alHance. 
In the year 732, Abderahman, the great Moslem leader, 
started from Pampeluna with a vast host, bent on the 
conquest of Gaul. Sweeping aside the Aquitainians and 
their duke, he completely overcame that province and 
penetrated as far north as Poictiers. But there he found, 
covering the only passage between the lower spurs of the 
Auvergne Mountains and the Bocage, the might of the 
Franks under the great Mayor of the Palace, Karl, or, as 
he is otherwise known, Charles Martel, * the hammer.' 
The great struggle followed which was to decide whether 
the Koran or the Gospel was to be the religion of tlie 
West. For seven days the hosts of Mohammed and 
Christ faced each other ; the issue was so uncertain that 
the leaders on either side were almost afraid to take the 
initiative. At last Abderahman set his troops in motion, 
and the fiery Moslems hurled themselves against the 
masses of Frankish infantry. Of the details of the fight 
we know nothing ; the Spanish chronicler Isidore is our 
only guide. ' The northern natives,' he tells us, ' stood 
immovable as a wall or as if frozen to their places by the 
rigorous weather of winter, but hewing down the Arabs 
with their swords. But when the Austrasian people, by 
the might of their massive limbs, and with iron hands 
striking straight from the chests their strenuous blows, 
had laid multitudes of the enemy low, at last the}^ found 
the king (Abderahman) and robbed him of life. Then 
night separated the combatants, the Franks brandishing 
their swords on high in scorn of the enemy.' The remnants 



INTRODUCTION ii 

of the Moslem hosts fled in disorder, and so ended the 
danger to western Christendom from the followers of 
the prophet. The next important event in the eighth 
century in the drama of western Europe was the final 
disappearance of the power of the eastern emperor from 
Italy, and the consequent complete emancipation of the 
Bishop of Rome. 

We must return for a short period to the eastern empire. 
In 634, the fatal weakness of the empire was proved at 
the battle of Hieromax. But it was not till 717, that 
after varying fortune the Moslems, after ravaging 
Phrygia and Cappadocia, threatened the heart of 
the eastern empire. Fortunately, in that year, out 
of the throes of revolution, there appeared a soldier 
capable of mastering the situation. Leo, the Isaurian, 
seized the Imperial Crown from his incompetent master 
Theodosius iii. ; and when a few months later, for the 
second time, the Moslem fleet and armies appeared before 
Constantinople, they again found an opposition worthy 
of the Roman name. After the vicissitudes of a siege 
lasting a full year the enemy fell back exhausted. It was 
primarily, no doubt, thanks to the impregnable walls of 
Constantinople and to Greek fire that the leaguer failed ; 
but without the courage, energy and skill of Leo, mere 
fortifications would have availed but little. The successful 
defence of Constantinople was, in its way, no less important 
for Europe than the battle of Poictiers. The Mohammedan 
power had received a complete set back, and for the next 
five centuries Europe had little to fear on her eastern 
flank ; in fact, Leo's successors regained a great deal of 
their lost Asiatic possessions owing to divisions in the 
Mohammedan camp. 

To return now to the relations betw^een Constantinople 
and the Papacy. For fifty years after the death of Pope 
Gregory i. there was a period of comparative agreement. 



12 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

But in 655 Constans ii., finding his decrees on the Monothe- 
lite heresy treated with disdain by the fiery Pope Martin, 
seizing a favourable opportunity had the contumacious 
Martin carried off in chains to the Crimea. This did much 
to estrange the loyalty of the Romans. In 663, Constans 
actually paid a visit to Italy, and, finding the Romans 
disloyal, attempted to neutralise the power of the Roman 
Church by granting to the Archbishop of Ravenna a 
formal exemption from spiritual obedience to the Bishop 
of Rome. Constans' son, Constantine v., reversed this 
policy. Indeed, in 681, he even went so far as to announce, 
that, if the suffrage of the clergy, people and soldiery of 
Rome were unanimously cast for one candidate that man 
might at once be consecrated pope without awaiting an 
imperial mandate from Constantinople. 

During the twenty years of anarchy preceding the 
reign of Leo the Isaurian, the popes John ii. and Gregory 11. 
levied taxes, made treaties, and accepted or refused to 
acknowledge the mushroom emperors. So independent 
had they become that when, in 726, Leo the Isaurian 
issued the famous edict, forbidding the worship of 
statues and paintings, Gregory 11. treated this decree 
with contumacy, telling him that he was little better 
than an ignorant school-boy. It was thanks to the 
power of the great Lombard king, Liutprand, that the 
rebellious pope escaped the arm of the exarch who was 
sent by the emperor to punish him. But, in 740, his 
successor Gregory ill. quarrelled with Liutprand, who 
was now, to all intents, the ruler of Italy. The pope could 
not hope for any help from the emperor whom he had 
so lately insulted. Accordingly, in his extremity he turned 
to Charles Martel, and as a bribe invested him with the 
title of Roman Patrician, which title was not his to give. 
He sent him also the golden keys of the tomb of St. Peter. 
Charles refused to quarrel with Liutprand who had helped 



INTRODUCTION 13 

him against the Moslems at Poictiers and elsewhere. So in 
the end the pope was forced to make terms with Liutprand. 
The diplomacy of Pope Gregory iii. has vast significance, 
because it foreshadows the temporary alliance between 
the ruler of the Franks and the Bishop of Rome, which, 
sixty years later, re-established the Roman Empire of 
the West, and led to the supremacy of the Papacy. 

It was, as we have already said, ten years later, in 750, 
that the descendant of St. Arnulf at last, with the con- 
nivance of the pope, deposed the Merovings, and stood 
forth as ruler of the Franks in name as well as in fact. 
There were many reasons for the sanction thus given by 
Papacy. The house of Arnulf had, all through its history, 
lent a willing hand to the famous band of missionaries 
who, durmg the eighth century, were so active in con- 
verting the heathen to the east of the Rhine, Saxons, 
Frisians and Wends. These missionary bishops were 
most zealous upholders of the spiritual domination of the 
Bishop of Rome. It was therefore only meet that the 
greatest of them, Boniface, an Englishman from Crediton, 
should be selected by the pope to crown King Pippin. 
By way of adding sanctity to the ceremony, Boniface 
anointed him, like David, with holy oil. Another great 
reason for the papal action was the fear of the Lombards. 
Having got rid of the authority of the absentee emperor, 
the pope had no desire to fall under the influence of the 
ever present rulers of Pavia, who were now attempting 
to exercise the forgotten rights of the emperor over Rome 
and its church. 

Very soon the pope called upon the gratitude of the 
new king. Early in January 754, Stephen 11. arrived at 
Ponthieu at Pippin's court, demanding vengeance on the 
Lombards, who, he declared, were attempting to spoil 
St. Peter of his patrimony. Some time was spent in 
negotiations, during which, at St. Denis, the pope ' anointed 



14 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

the most pious Prince Pippin, King of the Franks, with 
the oil of holy anointing, according to the custom of the 
ancients, and at the same time crowned his two sons, 
who stood next him, in happy succession, Charles and 
Carloman, with the same honours.' 

Charles or Karl, better known as Charlemagne, is the 
first of our portraits, and with him we will begin a new 
chapter, but before closing this one we will take a rapid 
glance at the map of Europe, in the year 754. The whole 
of the Iberian peninsula, save Tras os Montes and Asturias 
(i.e. the northern slopes of the Cantabrian Mountains) 
had fallen beneath the yoke of the Saracens. The old 
kingdom of Septimannia between the Pyrenees and the 
Rhone, and the duchy of Aquitaine, might any day be 
invaded by them. 

The Prankish kingdom extended over all modern France 
and included Frisia : the boundary then ran south down 
the Rhine, until it diverged east along the Taunus as far 
as the Harz Mountains, then down the Saale to the 
Bohemian Wald, including Bavaria as far as the river Inn. 
But though the limits were thus great, the Prankish 
kingdom was by no means homogeneous, and might at 
any moment split up along old tribal lines. 

In Italy the Lombards held the valley of the Po, Tuscany, 
and the duchies of Spoleto and Benevento. Diagonally 
across the Lombard states ran the remains of the old 
exarchate, till lately subordinate to the empire of the 
East. It included the strip of territory on the east of the 
Apennines from the mouth of the Po to Ancona, and 
Rome, Naples, Salerno, and most of Apulia. Calabria 
and Sicily still owned allegiance to Constantinople. 

Central Europe, save for the Teutonic tribe of Saxons, 
whose lands stretched from the Harz Mountains to the 
Oder, was inhabited by Slavic tribes, Serbs, Czechs, Wends 
and Croats, and Mongolian Avars. 



CHARLEMAGNE 

When on September 24th, 768, Pippin, the great King 
of the Franks, breathed his last, he left behind him two 
sons, between whom, according to the Frankish custom, 
he divided his inheritance. The elder, Karl, or Charles, 
born in 743, was in his twenty-sixth year ; the younger, 
Carloman, was some ten years junior. Roughly there 
fell to the lot of Charles Austrasia and the German lands 
dependent upon it, and probably Neustria ; while Carloman 
was endowed with Burgundy, Provence and Alamannia, or 
what we should now call Swabia. Between the brothers 
there was little sympathy and less resemblance. Carloman, 
we are told, was weak and peevish, a prey to the will of 
any strong unscrupulous spirit. Charles was the Frank 
at his very best. Contemporary ballads sing of his 
hardiness and his strength : how he would hunt the wild 
bull single-handed : how he could fell a horse and rider at 
a single blow, straighten four horse shoes with his mighty 
fingers, and lift a fully clad warrior with his right hand. 
His person was magnificent : the head was round, the fore- 
head majestic, the nose like the beak of an eagle, and the 
eyes like those of a lion. His face in rest was pleasing 
enough, but when in anger so fierce that men durst not 
look at it. Charles stood seven feet high by Frankish 
measure — six feet two inches by our reckoning. His 
neck was short, and in later life he tended towards 
corpulence ; but the fair proportion of his limbs con- 
cealed these defects. His walk was firm, and the whole 

15 



i6 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

carriage of his body manly. His voice was clear, but 
not so strong as his frame would have led one to expect. 
'Constantly in the saddle, riding and hunting were his 
delights, and he was also extremely fond of swimming. 
Sociable by nature and intensely affectionate, he loved 
being surrounded by his friends, especially by members 
of his own family. Intensely proud of his race and his 
lineage, even when he became emperor he always wore 
the dress of his native country — that is, the Frankish : 
on his body a linen shirt and linen drawers, then a tunic 
with a silver border, and stockings. He bound his legs 
with gaiters and wore shoes on his feet. In the winter 
he protected his shoulders and chest with a vest made 
of the skins of otters and sable. He wore a blue cloak, 
and was always girt with his sword, the hilt and belt being 
of gold and silver.' 

Of his early years and education we know nothing, 
except that he was present at and included, in the ceremony 
at St. Denis when, in July 754, Pope Stephen 11. crowned 
and anointed his father King Pippin, and at the same 
time poured the holy oil on his own head and on that 
of his younger brother Carloman. This event is note- 
worthy, for Charles and Carloman were both crowned 
kings before their father's death. So keen a brain as 
that of the young Charles could not but be impressed 
by the fact that the performer of the mystic ceremony 
of anointing — the high spiritual power, the head of the 
greatest organisation of western Europe — was a fugitive ; 
that this mighty personage depended for his lands, nay, 
as later events showed, for his life, on an iconoclastic 
emperor, an Arian Lombard, or the power of the Frankish 
sword. Meanwhile at home his father had brought him 
up not only with a deep reverence for the Church, but 
with a keen insight into the usefulness of the churchman. 
The Frankish kingdom had long outgrown the possibility 



CHARLEMAGNE 17 

of the immediate supervision of all subordinates by the 
king, however active and ambulatory his court might be. 
Power had had to be delegated to the headmen or counts 
of the districts ; these counts were becoming each year less 
the delegates of the king, and more and more hereditary 
rulers. The extraordinary delegates or Missi, sent out to 
supervise the counts, found it hard to enforce the royal will. 
It was Pippin who first saw in the high clergy or bishops 
a new class for enforcing the royal supremacy ; for clerics, 
in theory at least, ought not to found families ; although 
the law of the celibacy of the clergy had never been definitely 
accepted by the western Church. 

During the first three years of his reign Charles was 
hampered by the ill-will and jealousy of his brother, who, 
the chroniclers tell us, had not the generosity to co-operate 
with him, or the courage to oppose him. The only notice- 
able event during these years was the revolt of the Roman 
provincials of Aquitaine, under Hunald, father of Duke 
Waiter, who had been deposed by Pippin. The revolt 
gave Charles the first opportunity of showing that re- 
morseless energy which characterised all his actions. 
Hurriedly collecting the forces of southern Neustria, with 
the help of the garrison of Angouleme, he routed the rebels 
and drove them back over the frontier into Gascony ; 
and before leaving the conquered province he built a 
strong fortress at Fronsac at the important ford of the 
Dordogne. 

A modern writer points out that, though Charles' 
military abilities have been greatly exaggerated, his pre- 
cautionary measures will bear comparison with those of 
any mediaeval sovereign. 

On December 4th, 771, Carloman died, and Charles 
hurriedly proceeded to the Villa of Carbonacus, near 
Soissons, where he was solemnly proclaimed King of all 
the Franks. There was no one to assert the claims of 



iB LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

Carloman's young sons, who, with their mother Gerberga, 
hurried across the Alps to take refuge with the Lombards. 
The Archbishop of Paris and the Abbot of St. Denis, the 
most influential men of the late king's court, were states- 
men enough to recognise the evils which a long and pro- 
tracted minority would bring on their country. Owing to 
the division made by Pippin, whereby each son's possessions 
were partly German and partly provincial, there was no 
national feeling in the late king's territory. No sooner 
was all chance of opposition ended than Charles began to 
carry out to its logical conclusion the policy of the house 
of St. Arnulf. Three things were lacking to make the 
Prankish kingdom strong : firstly, more German blood ; 
this could only be found in the Teutonic tribes on the 
east of the Rhine ; secondly, a better organisation ; 
thirdly, a high ideal. The last two could only be secured 
by summoning to the aid of the royal authority the 
organisation and spiritual authority of the Church. 

One of the great characteristics of King Charles was his 
sane common sense — the power of seeing what was most 
needed at the moment. But while endued with this gift 
he was no mere opportunist ; his every action was founded 
on the religious principles which guided his hopes ; his 
habit of mind was far too straightforward, and indeed 
he lacked the imagination necessary, to pursue the tor- 
tuous methods of diplomacy. As Prankish king Charles 
desired to add the Saxons to the number of his subjects ; 
as a true son of the Church he desired to win their heathen 
souls from the devil. Consequently, once he was freed from 
the necessity of watching his brother he turned all the 
concentrated might of his kingdom to the conquest of 
Saxony. Though he soon found that he had underestimated 
the task, he never hesitated or drew back : so for the 
next thirty years he waged an almost unending war, amid 
the forests and swamps of that country. 



CHARLEMAGNE 19 

By the year 789 Charles had, either personally or by 
his Missi, waged eleven campaigns against the Saxons. 
These expeditions were very harassing. The natives 
seldom attempted to resist in the field. The huge 
Prankish armies, meeting with no opposition, overran the 
country, burning and devastating. Then for a few years 
there was peace, only to be followed by some fresh attack 
on a weakly guarded camp. Then came the hurried 
assembly of a huge punitive expedition, and opposition 
almost at once disappeared. 

In the wake of the Prankish armies followed the mis- 
sionaries ; these holy men used, as the centres of their 
efforts, the great strategic camps which were left behind 
when the expeditionary force withdrew : these in later 
times became the centres of sees like Miinster and Pader- 
born. The spiritual persuasion of the monks was backed 
by the rough and ready legal claims of the secular 
arm. When spiritual persuasion failed, the conquered 
heathen were driven to the baptismal tent by bribes or 
menaces. But this method of winning souls to God was 
by no means successful. One of the most serious risings 
of the Saxons occurred, in 782, after the king had issued 
his stern ' Capitulatio de partibus Saxoniae,' whereby 
the death penalty was to be inflicted on any one who 
violently entered a church or robbed it, on any one who 
despised the Christian customs of Lent and ate flesh 
therein, on any one who slew a bishop or presbyter, on 
any one who in heathen fashion believed in witchcraft, 
on any one who practised cremation instead of burial, 
and on any Saxon hiding himself to escape baptism. A 
further cause of this rebellion was the enactment of a strict 
tithe law. 

The revolt would have been more serious if a great 
leader had appeared among the Saxons ; the only man 
whose name stands out is Widukind. He does not seem to 



20 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

have really been successful in uniting all the tribes against 
their conquerors, though it was thanks to his genius that 
in 782 the Franks received the most severe reverse they 
met with during the reign of Charles. They were advan- 
cing in two columns on the Saxon camp at Suntal near 
Minden, one column under the Counts Adalgisus and 
Grilo, the other under Theodoric, the king's cousin. 
The counts, jealous of Theodoric, thought to steal a 
march on him, and attacked the enemy before his column 
was in position. Widukind effected a surprise and cut 
the Frankish host to pieces. Charles in fury at once 
summoned the whole host of Frankland, took the field 
himself, and swept over the land. 

When the unfortunate inhabitants clamoured for peace, 
Charles summoned all the Saxon chiefs and demanded the 
name of the author of the revolt. With one voice they 
said Widukind: but Widukind had fled to Denmark. Then 
the king demanded the surrender of the chief men of all 
the tribes, to the number of four thousand five hundred. 
It was expected that only the ringleaders would suffer ; 
but Charles, mad with rage, caused all the four thousand 
five hundred to be beheaded on the same day at Verden, 
on the banks of the Aller ; and then, as the chronicler says, 
' Having perpetrated this act of vengeance the king went 
into winter quarters at the villa of Theodo, and there 
celebrated the birth of our Lord.' Such were the means 
whereby the last of the Teutons of Germany were won 
to the religion of Christ. But what was far more effectual 
in finally taming the Saxons was the system, commenced 
about 797, of transporting whole tribes into Frankland, 
replacing them by Franks, and of taking vast quantities 
of the younger warriors as hostages and training them 
and educating them as Christians. Within a century 
these Saxons were grateful to the great king for winning 
them from heathenism, and giving them an organisation 



f 



CHARLEMAGNE 21 

and a polity higher than they possibly could have had 
as long as they remained a collection of small tribes 
worshipping Irminsul, ' the all-sustaining pillar.' ' The 
best man on earth,' wrote a Saxon chronicler, * and the 
bravest, was Charles. True and good faith he established 
and kept.' Within a hundred years the Saxon poet could 
write of him — • 

' He swept away the black deceitful night 
And taught our race to know the only light. 
The strife was long, the peril great and sore, 
And heavy toil and sleepless watch he bore. 
But these be things all Europe has by heart. 
All Europe in that mighty work had part. 
The hosts of all his realm did he combine 
To drag this people from the devil's shrine, 
For who can turn fierce heathen from their bent 
By soft persuasion and sage argument ? ' 

After all the Saxon problem was a straightforward one ; 
the object in view and the means to the end were simple ; 
all that was required to carry it to a successful conclusion 
was tenacity of purpose. But the next problem which 
faced King Charles was by no means so easy to solve ; 
although in this case again all that was necessary was 
to carry out to its logical conclusion the policy of the 
house of St. Arnulf. In 772, Pope Stephen iii. died and 
was succeeded by Hadrian, a man of fairly ambitious 
character, capable of conceiving and carrying out large 
statesmanlike plans. His predecessor, Stephen iii., had 
weakly allowed the Lombard king Desiderius to encroach 
on the patrimony of St. Peter. But the new pope was 
of sterner stuff, as Desiderius soon found to his cost. The 
last of the Lombard kings did not lack statesmanship, for 
he had attempted to neutralise the alliance between the 
pope and the kings of the Franks by offering, in 769, 
his daughter Desiderata in marriage to one of the young 



22 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

rulers. Charles, desiring, we can but suppose, to strengthen 
his position against his brother Carloman, put away his 
wife, a Saxon lady, Himiltruda, and, in 770, married the 
Lombard's daughter, only to divorce her in the following 
year. What his motives were for so doing is hard to say. 
The Monk of St. Gall, writing a century later, says that 
the lady was delicate and not likely to become a mother. 
But it is more probable that it was the entreaties of the 
pope, the memories of the past, and the certainty that 
Carloman had not much longer to live, which caused him 
to take this step. His action showed the Lombard that, 
in his struggle with the Papacy, he must depend on him- 
self alone. Hence it was that he seized the occasion of 
the Saxon war and the advent of the new pope to occupy 
Faenza, Ravenna, and the greater part of the Pentapolis, 
and to advance within a day's march of Rome itself. But 
Pope Hadrian was not to be intimidated ; his one reply 
to the Lombard ambassadors was, * First let your master 
restore the possessions of which he has unjustly despoiled 
St. Peter ; and then, not till then, will I grant him an 
interview.' Meanwhile he set to work to put Rome in a 
state of defence, and, early in 773, despatched a messenger 
by sea to demand Charles' aid. 

Like his father before him Charles had no desire to be 
drawn into the complications of a campaign in Italy, if 
other methods would avail. Accordingly, he despatched 
an embassy to Pavia, but Desiderius refused to treat. 
This constrained the Frankish king to summon that part 
of his host which was not engaged in Saxony. He 
divided his army into two commands : his own division 
crossed the Alps by the narrow valley of the Dora, which 
was held by the Lombard troops ; his uncle Bernard 
crossed by the Great St. Bernard Pass, thus causing the 
Lombards hurriedly to evacuate their fortified position 
at the mouth of the Dora Valley. The campaign there- 



CHARLEMAGNE 23 

after centred in the siege of Pavia, which ultimately sur- 
rendered, in June 774, after a resistance of ten months. 

Meanwhile Easter of that year had seen Charles' first 
entry into the Eternal City. He had hurriedly left the 
siege of the Lombard fortress for a few days, and, on Easter 
Eve, had been met by the squadrons of the Roman militia 
and bands of school-boys bearing their banners and crosses 
and singing loud his praises — in fact, with all the ritual 
and ceremony which in old times had honoured the visit 
of the exarch. At the church of St. Peter the king dis- 
mounted and went up on foot with his nobles, kneeling 
down at each step to kiss the marble stairs. Pope Hadrian 
and the great ecclesiastics stood awaiting him at the top 
of the flight of steps, and outside the church doors pope 
and king clasped each other in mutual embrace ; then, 
holding the pope's right hand, the Prankish king entered 
the sacred building while the monks and clergy chanted 
' Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.* 
It was during this visit, according to the Liher Pontificalis, 
that, with ' a terrible oath,' Charles swore that he would 
convey to St. Peter divers cities and territories in Italy. 
' From Luna with the island of Corsica, thence to Simarium, 
thence to Mons Bardonis, thence to Parma, thence to 
Rhegium, and from thence to Mons Silicis ; and moreover 
the whole exarchate of Ravenna, such as it was in old 
times, and the provinces of Venetia and Istria ; more- 
over, the whole duchies of Spoleto and Benevento.' (In 
other words the whole of Italy except the Riviera, Pied- 
mont, Lombardy north of the Po, Naples and Calabria.) 
Whether this is a mere forgery or not, the fact remains 
that no pope of the ninth or tenth century ever attempted 
to put the claim into execution. 

The fall of Pavia in June brought many open and 
doubtful enemies into Charles' hands, but he acted 
with mercy. Desiderius and his family were sent into 



24 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

monasteries and convents north of the Alps ; the same 
fate probably befell Gerberga and the two young sons of 
Carloman who had taken refuge at the Lombard court. 
The Iron Crown of the Lombards fell to Charles, who 
from now onwards styled himself ' Rex Francorum et 
Langobardorum atque Patricius Romanorum.' But he 
wisely decided not to amalgamate Francia and Italy ; 
though from then onwards all Italy, except a few 
coast towns, recognised him as supreme ruler. He 
left the local administration in the hands of those who 
had formerly held it, and he made no attempt to regu- 
late his relations with the Papacy. Future popes and 
emperors were thus involved in bitter and seemingly 
endless quarrels. Still, for the time, save for one insur- 
rection, in 776, of Hrodgaud, Lombard Duke of Friuli, the 
Italian question was solved. 

In ']']'], Charles held a great diet at Paderborn, and it 
seemed as if the Saxons had at last accepted his rule, 
although Widukind was conspicuous by his absence. 
To this diet came ambassadors from Ibn-el-Arabi, the 
Moorish Governor of Barcelona, and from the sons of 
Yussuf-el-Fekir, the last Abbasside ruler of Spain, who 
had been slain, in 759, by Abderahman the Ommeyad. 
The emissaries begged for Charles' assistance against 
Abderahman, promising the surrender of many cities in 
Spain if Charles would but appear before their gates. 
He listened to the tempting offer, remembering how his 
grandfather Charles Martel had hurled back the Moslem 
invasion at Poictiers, and how his father Pippin had 
regained Narbonne from the infidel. 

The campaign opened early in 778. For the invasion 
of Spain the Prankish host was reinforced by the men 
of Septimannia, Provence and Burgundy, and by con- 
tingents from Lombardy and even from Bavaria. Charles 
9.S usual divided his army. He himself led one column 



CHARLEMAGNE 25 

over the Pyrenees by the famous pass of Roncesvalles ; 
another division under Duke Buchard, mainly composed 
of Austrasians, penetrated into what we now call Cata- 
lonia by the passes of the eastern Pyrenees. The idea 
was that the whole host should reassemble at Caesar 
Augusta, that is, Saragossa on the Ebro, Pampeluna, a 
city belonging to the Christian kingdom of Asturias, 
opened its gates to Charles after a siege, and ultimately 
Saragossa with its governor, Ibn-el-Arabi, surrendered 
to the now united host. But by August it was clear that 
Spain, west of the Ebro, was united in its obedience to 
Abderahman ; and Charles, obliged to acknowledge that 
his expedition had really been a failure, was forced to 
withdraw to his own dominions. 

The mass of the army safely crossed the terrible Pyrenees. 
But on August i8th, as the last columns were slowly passing 
through the gorge of Roncesvalles, they were suddenly 
attacked by the Basques. The whole of the rearguard 
were cut to pieces, and there fell among others Eggihard 
the Seneschal, Anselm the Count of the Palace, and, most 
celebrated of all, Hruodland, the governor of the Breton 
March, so dear to minstrels and trouveurs of later cen- 
turies as the famous Rolland. It was his praises that 
Taillefer, the Norman, first sang on our shores, as tossing 
his sword aloft he rode before Duke William's warriors 
on the field of Hastings, singing — 

' D'Allemaigne et de Rollant 
Et d'Olivier et de Vauceux 
Qui mourrent en Rainschevaux.' 

So with disaster ended Charles' attempt to play the 
part of the defender of Christendom against the Moslem. 
But the land between the Pyrenees and the Ebro never 
again fell absolutely under the sway of the infidels. In 
785 his son Louis made an expedition into Spain. The 



26 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

conquered territory was turned into a province, known 
as the Spanish March. By 8ii this included the newly 
conquered towns of Tarragona and Tortosa. 

The year 781 brought to the front a question which was 
bound to be faced sooner or later. The Bavarians had 
always resisted the overlordship of the Prankish crown. 
The question had become more acute since Tassilo, the 
Bavarian duke, had married a daughter of King Desiderius. 
The duke had naturally resented the fact that Charles 
had divorced his sister-in-law. During the conquest of Lom- 
bardy he had contented himself by maintaining a sulky 
isolation ; but, as years went on, this attitude began to 
turn into that of active hostility. Charles seized the 
opportunity of his visit to Rome, in 781, to have his son 
Pippin crowned King of Italy, and another son Louis as 
King of Aquitaine. He also accepted the offer of the pope 
to effect a reconciliation with Tassilo. The result of the 
negotiations was that the duke came to Worms, swore 
a new oath of allegiance, and gave hostages. ' But the 
said duke,* as the chronicler writes, * returning home did 
not long remain in the faith which he had promised.* 
No doubt one reason for this was the cruel and arrogant 
character of Charles' new queen, Frastrada. Hildegard 
had died in 783, and Charles had immediately married 
this lady who ' diverted her husband from the kindness 
and accustomed gentleness of his nature.* The conse- 
quence was that, in 785, there was a palace intrigue 
which aimed at taking the king's life. Following on this 
came a Lombard insurrection in Benevento. Thereafter 
Tassilo suddenly refused to carry out the terms he had 
sworn to at Worms. Charles at first tried to negotiate 
with him, and the pope threatened anathemas if he did 
not keep his oath. But Tassilo had made up his mind 
to fight the matter out. However, when, in 787, the great 
Prankish host, in three columns, invaded his land, he 



CHARLEMAGNE 27 

tamely surrendered, only in the next year to attempt to 
regain his power by intriguing with the Avars. Charles 
once again swept down on him, and this time had his head 
shaved and sent him into a monastery. Bavaria thence- 
forth became an integral part of the Prankish dominions. 

The absorption of Bavaria brought in its train the 
conquest of the Avars, a Mongol tribe inhabiting the 
valleys of the Drave and Save. They were a fiercely pre- 
datory race, and during the seventh century had been a 
real danger to Europe. But, although their powers were 
on the wane, difficulties in Saxony prevented their sub- 
jugation from being accomplished in the campaigns of 
790-1. Accordingly, to facilitate communication between 
the different theatres of war on the Danube and the Elbe, 
Charles eagerly accepted a suggestion of connecting the 
water system of the Danube with that of the Rhine, 
by means of a canal joining the Altmiihl to the Rezat. 
The Altmiihl flows into the Danube near Weissenberg in 
Bavaria, and the Rezat flows northwards into the Main. 
All through the autumn of 793 vast crowds were set to 
work on the enterprise, and a ditch two miles long and 
three hundred feet wide was actually excavated. But 
the autumn floods were too much for the diggers, and the 
heaps that were dug out were washed back into the trench, 

Charles did not himself take the field in the later cam- 
paigns against the Avars, and it fell to the lot of Duke 
Eric of Friuli to storm their celebrated fortress or ' Rhing.' 
The * Rhing ' was a huge circle of concentric walls or 
stockades ; the outer one was thirty miles across ; between 
the rings were grazing grounds and fences, and in the 
centre was stored the accumulation of two hundred years 
of predatory warfare. Duke Eric stormed the seven 
outer rings in 795, and sent the vast hordes of plunder to 
King Charles. The mass of money thus recovered was 
enormous, for, during the greater part of the seventh 



28 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

century, the eastern empire had bought peace from the 
Avars by paying yearly blackmail to the extent of one 
hundred thousand solidi. Besides this mass of bullion, 
gorgeous arms, bales of silk, precious stones and treasures 
of all descriptions were recovered, and Charles was able 
to send magnificent presents to the pope, to his fellow 
sovereigns, including King Offa of Mercia, and to all ecclesi- 
astics, nobles and courtiers of his own kingdom. In the 
following year his son. King Pippin of Italy, stormed 
the two inner rings, and completed the conquest of the 
Avars. Although there were one or two slight attempts 
at rebellion some years later, we know little more of 
them, except that, in 805, we find that the Chagan was a 
Christian and bore the name of Theodore. 

In December 795, Charles lost a good friend by the 
death of Pope Hadrian. His successor, Leo in., a Roman 
by birth, appears to have been unpopular with the citizens 
of Rome, probably owing to his harsh temper. Among 
the great lay officers of the papal court there was a strong 
minority bitterly opposed to him. His first act was to 
send messengers carrying the keys of St. Peter and the 
banner of Rome to Charles, announcing his elevation to 
the Papal Chair. Charles acknowledged this submission 
and wrote to Leo, * It is ours, with the help of the divine 
piety, externally to defend the Holy Church of Christ by 
our arms from all pagan inroads and infidel devastation, 
and internally to fortify it by the recognition of the 
Catholic faith. It is yours, most holy father, with hands 
raised to God, like Moses, to help our warfare : that by 
your intercessions the Christian people may everywhere 
have the victory over their enemies, and the name of the 
Lord Jesus may be magnified throughout the whole world.' 

Two years later, in April 798, Pope Leo was set upon 
by the emissaries of two of the great household officials, 
one of whom was a nephew of Pope Hadrian, and left 



CHARLEMAGNE 29 

for dead on the Flaminian Way. After many vicissi- 
tudes he escaped from his enemies, and in the summer 
of 799 appeared at Charles' camp at Paderborn in 
Saxony. The king received the half-bhnded pontiff 
with all honours, and for two months negotiations were 
carried on between them. There was much to decide. 
The enemies of the pope had made the most foul insinua- 
tions against his moral character. Before what court if 
any ought the Head of the Church to clear himself from 
these accusations ? How far was the faith of western 
Europe shaken by the insinuations against its head ? 
How in future was the supreme spiritual power of the 
West to be maintained against personal enemies, or the 
fickle hatred of the Roman mob ? 

There was also the question of the relationship between 
the Bishop of Rome and the Roman Patrician, which had 
been kept so nebulous during the pontificate of Hadrian. 
This raised the fundamental question as to what was the 
position of Roman Patrician. The answer to this was, 
that although the title had been granted by Pope Stephen 
to the Prankish king, the patrician was originally the 
official responsible to the emperor for the government 
of Italy. But what of the empire in the year 799 ? 
Was there an emperor ? In 797 the prestige of the 
Roman Empire had received an immense shock, when 
Irene, mother of the Emperor Constantine vi., had seized 
her son, blinded him, and with the aid of the anti-Icono- 
clastic party had caused herself to be proclaimed empress, 
to the scandal of the civilised world. 

There can be but little doubt that as Pope Leo pondered 
over his position, the thought occurred to him that if his 
predecessor Pope Stephen could restore the title of Roman 
Patrician, he himself might restore the title of Emperor 
of the West — nay, rather of Emperor ; for, in the opinion 
of many, there was no emperor now. Charles, on his side, 



30 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

had already considered the matter, and his friend Alcuin, 
the Northumbrian Monk, had written to him. in May 
from Tours, clearly suggesting the fatal word ' Imperator.' 
' There have been hitherto three persons higher than all 
others in the world. One is the Apostolic Sublimity, 
who rules by vicarious power from the seat of St. Peter, 
premier of the apostles. And what has been done to him 
who was the ruler of the aforesaid race you have in your 
goodness informed me. The second is the Imperial 
dignity and power of the sacred Rome. How impiously 
the governor of that empire has been deposed, not by 
aliens but by his own people and fellow-citizens, universal 
rumour tells us. The third is the royal dignity in which 
the decree of our Lord Jesus Christ has placed you, as 
ruler of the Christian people, more excellent in person 
than the aforesaid dignitaries, more illustrious in wisdom, 
more sublime in the dignity of your kingdom. Lo ! 
now on you alone the salvation of the churches of Christ 
falls and rests. You are the avenger of enemies, the 
guider of the wanderers, the comforter of the mourners, 
the health of the good.' 

These great problems could not be settled off-hand. 
Meanwhile Pope Leo was escorted by the king's ' Missi ' to 
Rome, where the fickle mob received him with acclama- 
tions. Charles himself spent the year 800 in perambu- 
lating his dominions, and passed some time at Tours 
in consultation with Alcuin. Then, after holding a 
placitum at Maintz in August, he began preparations 
for his last and most celebrated visit to Italy. On Nov- 
ember 24th he reached the Eternal City and was met as 
before with all pomp. His first visit was to St. Peter's, 
where he received the papal blessing and paid his devo- 
tion at the tomb of St. Peter. His next business was to 
hold an inquiry into the assault on the pope, and to give 
the pontiff an opportunity of publicly disclaiming the 



CHARLEMAGNE 31 

charges made against his character. A great synod met 
on December ist, but declared that it could not judge the 
Apostolic See. However, the pope listened to Charles' 
advice. After making it clear that his conduct must 
not be turned into a precedent against his successors, in 
the presence of the king and his Frankish followers he 
swore in the Ambo of St. Peter's, in a loud clear voice, 
that he was innocent of the charges brought against him. 

On the morning of Christmas Day Charles, in courtesy 
to the pope, clad in Roman fashion in a long tunic and 
chlamys, and wearing Roman shoes, went to pay his 
devotions before the tomb of St. Peter. The great 
basilica itself was filled by an immense crowd, who had 
come to see the famous King of the Franks. When the 
pope had solemnised the Mass, the king and his sons, 
Charles and Pippin, rose from their knees and prepared 
to leave the building. But, before they could do so, 
Leo suddenly approached the king, and placed on his 
head a crown of gold. Then, says the papal biographer, 
' All the faithful Romans, beholding so great a champion 
given them, and knowing the love he bore to the Holy 
Roman Church and its Vicar, in obedience to the will of 
God and St. Peter, the key-bearer of the Kingdom of 
Heaven, cried out with deep accordant voices : "To 
Charles, most pious and august, crowned by God, the 
great and peace-bearing emperor, be life and victory." ' 
Led by the pope the whole congregation broke into the 
litany called * Laudes,' invoking blessing on the emperor 
and his children. 

Such was the rebirth of the Roman Empire of the West. 
Historians have viewed it from many points. Some 
declare that it was a revolution ; that the pope had 
given what was not his to give ; that it was not legal for 
a barbarian to be emperor. Others maintain that the 
emperors originally were elected by the people and soldiers 



32 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

of Rome ; that the acclamation of the crowd in St. Peter's 
was a vaHd title when sanctioned by the voice of the 
Roman Senate. Still, the fact remains, that, even before 
his election, Charles was to all intents and purposes more 
powerful in western Europe than any emperor had been 
for many centuries. 

The emperor's friend Eginhard mentions the fact that 
Charles at first was so averse to taking the title that he 
said that * had he known the intention of the pope, he 
would not have entered the church on that day, great 
festival though it was.' The remark is probably genuine, 
and arose from the fact that he had not yet made up his 
mind as to the expediency of taking the title, which, 
while it conferred no new power on himself, might add 
considerably to the difficulties of dividing his inheritance 
among his children. No doubt he was annoyed at having 
his hand thus forced. Moreover, pious and faithful son 
of the Church as he was, he disliked the appearance of 
receiving the imperial crown from the hand of the pope, 
and probably foresaw some of the difficulties which might 
follow in the future. 

Still, once crowned he determined to play his part. 
One of his first actions was to send off an embassy to the 
Empress Irene at Constantinople — to propose a marriage 
between them, says a Byzantine chronicler ; at any rate, 
to see whether the Byzantine court would recognise his 
new title. But though Irene made friendly overtures, a 
revolution cut short her reign. 

It was not till 8io, and then at the cost of surrendering 
the Adriatic territories of Venetia, Istria and Dalmatia 
* to his brother Nicephorus,' that the Byzantine court 
at last recognised the new dignity of the King of the 
Franks. 

The ten years which succeeded Charles' coronation at 
Rome were on the whole the most peaceful of his reign. 



CHARLEMAGNE 33 

The Saxons were by now fast becoming Christians. In 
the West his son Louis, King of Aquitaine, kept the 
Moslems quiet along the Spanish March. In Italy Pippin, 
under his father's supervision, maintained a wise and 
beneficent rule ; while the eldest son, Charles, adminis- 
tered Neustria. But when necessary one of the three 
might be sent off to superintend the host. In 810, there 
appeared the first threatening of the storm which was to 
shake the newly-founded empire to its base. There had 
for long been disputes between the tribes which occupied 
the territories we now call Schleswig-Holstein. The 
Danes took one side, while the emperor sent out his son 
Charles to support the tribe which had always been loyal 
to the Prankish alliance. Thereon, in 810, the Danish 
king, Godfred, assembled his fleet and proceeded to lay 
waste the shores of Frisia. Before the emperor could 
build a fleet the Danish king was murdered by one of his 
vassals. Still Charles allowed no diminution of his naval 
programme, and in 811, reviewed his new instrument of 
war in the harbour of Boulogne. It would have been 
well for Europe if he had recognised earlier in his life the 
need for ships. 

The fatal year 810 brought other and closer troubles. 
On 6th June Charles' eldest daughter died : a month 
later, July 8th, died Pippin, the young king of Italy. 
Worse still, on December 4th, 811, his eldest son Charles 
died — the apple of his eye, who most resembled him in 
features and in character. There was left then Louis, known 
as the Debonnair, a man of piety and culture, but little 
fitted to the iron needs of empire. In September 813, with 
many misgivings, feeling his own end approaching, Charles 
had him crowned at a generalis conventus at Aachen (Aix-la- 
Chapelle) . There he himself breathed his last, a few months 
later, on the morning of January 28th, 814, in the seventy- 
seventh year of his age and the forty-seventh of his reign. 

c 



34 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

Looking back over the ages it is not difficult to under- 
stand why it was that within a few years of his death men 
everywhere added the adjective ' magnus ' to his name, or 
why three hundred and fifty-one years after his death the 
Roman Church canonised him as a saint. For few men have 
done more in their hfe or worked harder and with more 
single intent than King Charles. Seldom does it fall to the 
lot of man to impersonate a myth. It is as the refounder 
of the Roman Empire that we now remember him ; that 
empire so grand in its claims of universal lordship, so 
noble in its ideas of the unity of Christendom, yet so 
hopelessly impracticable in its performance. But those 
who lived nearer to his time beheld the ' terrible king ' 
not as the holder of some vague and glorious title, but 
as the shield of Christendom against Moslem and Avar ; 
as the militant apostle and conqueror of the Saxons ; as 
the maintainer of a peace and the administrator of a justice 
which, compared with the insecurity, hardship, and the 
brutalities of a later time, made his reign seem to them 
the veritable ' Golden Age.' His friendship with Haroun- 
al-Raschid, the Caliph of Damascus, and his protectorship 
of the city of Jerusalem cast a world-wide glamour over 
his empire. 

Great and glorious as was the empire which Charles 
created, it was essentially the triumph of his own per- 
sonality rather than a dominion built on a sure and sound 
foundation. Charles was in no way an innovator ; he 
accepted the title of emperor, as we have seen, with reluc- 
tance. He himself added nothing to the political institu- 
tions of the age. The constitution of the Frankish nation, 
as built up by his forefathers, rested on the ability of the 
monarch to supervise the local administrators, either by 
personal visitation or by means of delegates called ' Missi,' 
sent out from the royal court. Charles, as year by year 
his dominions extended and the calls on his time increased, 



CHARLEMAGNE 35 

trusted more and more to the ' Missi ' to superintend the 
counts who were now becoming the hereditary rulers of 
the gaus or districts. The old local self-government by 
the hundred court was everywhere giving way to the 
jurisdiction of the count. This was in no small measure 
due to the wars of conquest so continually waged by the 
house of St. Arnulf. The necessity for complete obedience 
in the host strengthened the position of the count. The 
small freeman at all times found it hard to struggle against 
the forces of nature : a bad harvest might at any moment 
bring complete ruin. But, when year after year he was 
called away to fight during the summer months, it was no 
wonder tHat he could no longer gain a living from his land, 
and in return for sustenance and protection was glad to 
commend himself and his land to some great and wealthy 
neighbour. Moreover, we must remember how con- 
tinuous was the drain on the manhood of the nation, for 
like all great conquerors Charles found that one war but 
led to another. Hence it was that, to some extent, 
Charles was himself responsible for the fact that inter- 
nally his dominions were a great deal weaker at the end 
of his reign than they were at the beginning. 

In spite of his great industry and immense grasp of 
detail, the very evils against which his capitularies and 
laws were issued were, to a great extent, of his own creat- 
ing. He could see clearly that the counts were getting 
stronger and pressing too hardly on the people of their 
gaus ; he could give careful directions to his ' Missi ' to 
supervise these counts and, if necessary, to remove them : 
he might issue minute decrees as to how justice was to be 
administered, and how the law of God was to be obeyed : 
his selection of ' Missi ' might be excellent : his substitution 
of the bishop for the count might for the time alleviate 
the evil. But these were all palliatives ■ they could not 
correct the natural effects of the general policy of himself 



36 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

and his predecessors, which was essentially prejudicial to 
the interests of the small freeholder. 

He did his best to protect the oppressed. We have 
his ' eight-fold ban ' against those who dishonour Holy 
Church ; against those who act unjustly against widows, 
orphans, and poor men, unable to defend themselves ; 
against those who carry off a free-born woman contrary 
to the will of her parents, or set fire to another man's 
house, or with violence break into a man's dwelling, or 
who neglect to obey the king's summons to the host. We 
must not too severely blame Charles for failing to solve 
social and political problems which are still vexing 
the men of our own day. We should rather remember 
how to the best of his ability he brought order into what 
had before been chaos : how he set before himself and 
his subjects the idea that his empire aimed not merely 
at dominion over men's bodies, but cared also for their 
souls. He believed that it was his duty not only to 
see that men did not do wrong, but also that, from 
a religious point of view, they did right. Church and 
empire, according to his idea, were co-extensive: the 
Church indeed was not a department of the state, it was 
the state, and the emperor was the guardian and pro- 
tector of the Church, not, as in later ages the popes main- 
tained, the Church's vassal. It was in fact the thoroughness 
with which Charles built up the ecclesiastical power in his 
dominions which enabled the Papacy to put forward those 
claims to universal supremacy which he himself would 
have been the first to deny. 

Terrible, unbending, indefatigable as he was as a king, 
as a man Charles was intensely beloved by all with whom 
he came in contact. His unaffected manner, his cheeri- 
ness, his good spirits and his personal magnetism were 
irresistible. He had an insatiable curiosity. He dehghted 
to play the patron of letters, and estabhshed a sort of 



CHARLEMAGNE 37 

royal academy at his court, under the conduct of Alcuin 
the Northumbrian. Riculf, Archbishop of Maintz, Angil- 
bert, the king's chaplain, and Anno, Archbishop of Salzburg, 
were the chief instructors. They corresponded with each 
other under assumed names. The king chose that of 
David, while Alcuin called himself Flaccus Albinus. As 
regards his morals Charles did not rise above the condi- 
tion of his age. Extremely uxorious by nature, he placed 
but little check on his passions. Though four times 
married we hear of several concubines, and so lax was he 
that scandal did not hesitate to bring in the names of 
his daughters. But he had many good qualities. His 
biographer tells us that ' he was temperate in meat and 
drink, especially in the latter : he had the greatest aversion 
to drunkenness in any man, much more in himself and 
his companions. From solid food he could not abstain 
in the same degree, and often complained that fasts were 
injurious to his health. At his usual dinner were served 
no more than four courses, not counting the game with 
which his hunters served him from the spit : he pre- 
ferred this to any kind of food. During dinner he listened 
to a recitation or reading. The readings were taken from 
the lives of the ancients. He delighted also in the books 
of St. Augustine, especially that entitled The City of 
God. He was so sparing of the use of wine and other 
beverages that he rarely took more than three draughts 
during dinner. In summer he would take after dinner 
some fruit and a cup of liquor : then he would undress 
and pass two or three hours in sleep.' 

Building was one of his great hobbies. At Maintz he 
threw ?. great bridge across the river, which was unfor- 
tunately destroyed by fire a few years after it was com- 
pleted. At Aachen, his favourite abode, he built a palace 
and a church, part of which remain to this day. But so 
degenerate was the age that the decorations had to be 



38 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

supplied by robbing the walls of the old Roman town 
of Verdun ; while the colossal equestrian statue, which 
adorned the square before the church, was brought from 
Ravenna, and was really a monument of Theodoric the 
Ostrogoth. 

Such then were his virtues and his failings. With his 
high aims and his brilliant though passing success, no 
man will deny him the title of greatness, and we cannot 
be surprised that to this day both Frenchmen and Germans 
claim him as their own. 



RICHARD THE FEARLESS 

The years which followed the death of Charlemagne proved 
only too conclusively how insecure were the foundations of 
the re-established empire of the West. Charles' son Louis, 
surnamed by some Debonnair, by others Pious, lacked his 
father's virility. The slave of his wife, the tool of every 
intriguer, , a monk-ridden coward and an over-indulgent 
father of ill-disciplined children, he made no attempt to 
grapple with the problems which had baffled his father. 
The royal estates were squandered away to the church 
in ' frankalmoign ' ; these reckless donations, which de- 
prived the crown of the service due from land, added to 
the already overweening claims of the clergy. The local 
counts became more and more independent and dis- 
obedient, and on all the frontiers of the empire there was 
unrest and insecurity. At last Louis' elder sons, seeing 
the feebleness of his rule, seized the excuse of his partiality 
for their youngest brother to rebel against him. From 829 
to 834 there was civil war. Fortune alternated between the 
emperor and his undutiful sons at the will of the treason- 
able nobles who kept faith with neither party. On one 
occasion at Roth f eld, in June 833, nearly the whole of 
the Imperial host passed over to the rebels ; and the 
unfortunate king told his scanty followers, ' Go ye also to 
my sons : it would be a pity if any man lost hfe or limb 
on my account.' So Louis was left alone at his tent door 
with no other follower than his wife Judith, and from 
that day onwards men called the Plain of Rothfeld — 
the Liigenfeld or Field of Lies. 



40 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

In vain by the Partition of Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle) and 
the Placitum of Worms, Louis attempted to associate his 
sons in the work of government. Each attempt at partition 
was the signal for fresh civil war, while Danes and Saxons 
ravaged the outskirts of the empire. The death of Louis 
did not improve the position of affairs. His three sons 
Lothaire, Louis and Charles, and their nephew Pippin, con- 
tinued the internecine strife. In 841, in the valley of the 
Yonne at Fontenay, the Emperor Lothaire, with the men 
of Austrasia and the Aquitainians under Pippin, faced the 
Bavarians and Saxons under Louis, and the Neustrians 
under Charles. After a tremendous struggle the forces 
of Louis and Charles were completely victorious. From 
that day, writes the chronicler, * The strength of the Franks 
was so cut down, and their fame and valour so diminished, 
that for the future they were not merely unable to extend 
the bounds of their realm, but were incapable of protect- 
ing their frontiers.' The result of the battle was the 
Partition of Verdun, in the following year, 842. The 
empire of Charlemagne was completely broken up, for 
although Lothaire retained the title of emperor he had 
no authority outside his own district. Three new 
kingdoms were then formed. In the West Charles was 
granted Neustria, Aquitaine, the Spanish March and 
western Burgundy : in the East Louis held all the Teu- 
tonic lands east of the Rhine, Saxony, Thuringia, Bavaria, 
Swabia, and a suzerainty over the Slavs of the Elbe and 
Save ; while Lothaire retained the middle kingdom com- 
posed of Frisia, Austrasia, Burgundy, Provence and Italy, 
with the two Imperial capitals of Aachen and Rome. 

The forty years which followed the Peace of Verdun 
are very hard to keep clear in the mind. Each of the 
three brothers had three sons, and they rang the changes 
on the names Lothaire, Louis, Charles and Carloman. 
They were all alike tainted bj^ the curse of the descendants 



RICHARD THE FEARLESS 41 

of Louis the Debonnair — inconstancy and intrigue. The 
great outstanding feature in the situation was the attack 
on western Christendom by the Danes and the Magyars. 
The people of Denmark and Scandinavia, hke the Saxons 
and Angles some centuries earlier, were increasing out 
of proportion to their food supply. Swarms of these 
bold sailors put out from their homes in their long coasting 
boats to find a livelihood, and fell upon the unprotected 
coasts of the empire and of Britain. The story goes that 
Charlemagne foretold the troubles that they would bring 
on the empire when he saw their dark sails from his palace 
at Narbonne. He at any rate recognised that the only 
way to meet them was on their own element, the sea. 
But unfortunately he died before the Imperial fleet became 
a fleet in being. Like England the empire was too much 
occupied with the rival claimants to the throne to con- 
tinue a sound naval policy. Thus the Norsemen and 
Danes found a rich and easy means of livelihood. Their 
numbers increased rapidly when the fertile provinces of 
western Europe were their store-house and granary. 
Attacks became more frequent and bolder. From 841 
till 921 hardly a year passed in which they did not devas- 
tate some part of what we now call France. By 879 
their power was so firmly fixed in England that King 
Alfred was glad to buy peace by surrendering the eastern 
half of England to their King Guthrum by the Treaty of 
Wedmore. On the continent this same policy, of setting 
a thief to catch a thief, was often adopted : notably in 
the case of the Terra Northmannorum round Rouen. In 
921 — to accept the date which seems most probable — by 
the Treaty of Clair-sur-Epte, Charles the Simple granted 
to the Norseman Rollo the principality of Rouen on con- 
dition that he became a Christian and defended the Seine 
Valley from the attacks of his countrymen. Meanwhile 
in southern Europe, in 868, the Moors had reoccupied 



42 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

Provence. In the East the Magyars were pressing in to 
the occupation of Hungary, and in 899 they had actually 
forced their way as far west as France and Italy. 

It seemed as if the whole polity of the Frankish Empire 
would collapse, for in spite of these disasters the descendants 
of Charlemagne would not combine. Meanwhile Chris- 
tianity was on the wane. At Rome there was a succession 
of dissolute puppet popes, the nominees of the counts of 
Tusculum. Everywhere the bishops were becoming mere 
secular rulers, and simony was rampant : the discipline 
of the monasteries was relaxed, and the lower clergy were 
sunk in ignorance. The whole moral tone of Christianity 
had reached its nadir, partly owing to the general in- 
security, and partly to the fact that there was a general 
belief that the world would come to an end in the year 
1000. The laxity of moral principles is perhaps most 
clearly shown in the tortuous diplomacy of the age. 
Duke Hugh of Paris will swear on the relics that he will 
uphold his overlord King Louis d'Outremer against his 
enemy, the Norman ruler at Rouen, at the very moment 
he has just made a solemn contract with the Northmen 
to attack King Louis. Instances like this are innumerable, 
and it is almost impossible to unravel the tangled skein 
of alHances and counter-alliances. As it was with the 
big man so was it with the small ; religion, loyalty and 
moral principle had totally disappeared. 

To the men of the period life seemed to be one constant 
struggle against insurmountable difficulties. It is no 
wonder then that, listening to the fabled legends of 
Charlemagne, they recalled his times as the Golden Age, 
and clung to the rule of his descendants as the only means 
of re-establishing peace within the bounds of the civilised 
world. But it was not through the empire that pohtical 
stability was to be gained. The scourge of the Danish 
invasion brought into prominence the fact that strong 



RICHARD THE FEARLESS 43 

local government was the first necessity of the day. Where 
the local count or bishop or duke was a capable man, the 
Danish raids were checked. It was the local levies pro- 
■ perly organised under the local leader, with strong local 
defence, not the tumultuary armies of the Carolingian king, 
which gave security to the district. Hence we find that 
in addition to the quarrels among the Carolingians them- 
selves, there was this other factor which made for the 
i dissolution of the empire. The period is characterised 
' by the growth in importance of the hereditary dukes or 
counts of Saxony, Swabia, Bavaria, Lotharingia, Tuscany, 
Aquitaine, Paris, Vermandois, Flanders and Normandy. 

We have seen that in 921 Charles the Simple bought 
off the Danish chieftain Rollo, and secured his services 
against his fellow countrymen by granting him the prin- 
cipality of Rouen, on condition of his becoming a Christian. 
Three years later a further grant was made of the Bessin, 
or county round Bayeux, which already was inhabited 
by a Danish population. Rollo was succeeded by his 
son William Longsword, to whom, in 933, Rudolph of 
Burgundy, the successor of Charles, granted the supremacy 
of the maritime counties of Brittany — that is to say, the 
Cotentin and the county of Avranches. But though thus 
recognised by the Carolingian kings, the Dux Piratorum, 
or Captain of the Pirates, as William was called by the 
Frankish chroniclers, was regarded with hatred and con- 
tempt by the other great feudatories of the Frankish 
king. His chief enemy was Duke Hugh, Count of Paris ; 
the Danish settlement of Rouen cut off the growing power 
of the Lord of Paris from the sea. Hugh's father had 
for the time seized the Frankish crown, but the prestige 
of the Carolingians was too great for him to retain it. 
But Hugh was eagerly expecting the time when his 
family might finally tear the sceptre from the grasp of the 
failing Carolings. The Count of Vermandois, though he 



44 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

stooped so far as to allow his daughter to marry William 
Longsword, had no real love for the Norman. Arnulf 
of Flanders hated him because he had foiled him in his 
designs on Ponthieu. Hence it was that William, as 
years went on, and the young Carolingian King Louis 
d'Outremer showed signs of allying himself with the 
crafty Duke Hugh, was forced to seek his support from 
the Danes. He had his only son Richard, the fruit of his 
union with a Breton lady Sprotta, educated among his 
still heathen countrymen of Bayeux. 

In 942 a conspiracy was formed by King Louis, Arnulf 
of Flanders, and Duke Hugh ; William was invited to a 
meeting on an island in the Seine and foully murdered. 
The conspirators, however, found they had gained but 
little ; they had calculated on easily overrunning and 
occupying the country, but this dastardly act bound 
together the Christian Danes of Rouen and the pagans 
of Bayeux. Bernard the Dane, Rollo's fellow-warrior — 
the head of the civilised party among the Danes — on the 
night that William's remains were carried into Rouen 
brought forward the young Richard to the grave-side. 
Amid scenes of the greatest enthusiasm Christians and 
pagans, Normans and Bretons, swore that the fair-haired 
boy of ten should be their ruler and prince. 

For the next three years the lad led a life of the 
wildest adventure. At first the pagan party was the 
stronger, and he was taken to Bayeux, where the 
Frankish chronicler maintains that he was taught to 
despise Christianity, and eat with dehght roast horse-flesh, 
the test of paganism. From this situation he was rescued 
by the crafty Bernard, who, seeing no other means for 
restoring the supremacy of the Christian party, sent the 
boy to Laon to do homage to King Louis for his posses- 
sions. The king received the lad kindly, but the Queen 
Gerberga, as the Norman chronicler tells us, was envious 



RICHARD THE FEARLESS 45 

of the handsome boy whose straight hmbs and upright 
bearing emphasised the faihngs of her poor crook-legged, 
sallow-faced son I.othaire. Using every artifice, the jealous 
mother strove to turn the king against the young Richard. 
It did not need much ingenuity to prove to Louis how 
fickle were the Danish population, how thin was their 
veneer of Christianity, and what an asset the rich Terra 
Northmannorum would be in the struggle which was 
imminent between himself and the Duke of Paris. Owing 
to the lavish grants of his predecessor, the King of the 
West Franks had few important possessions left, save 
the rock of Laon. His strength lay merely in the vague 
glamour which surrounded his family, and in the title of 
king ; while his opponent had gathered into his^ hands 
vast fiefs stretching even south of the Loire. 

Hardly had Richard returned to Rouen than he was 
seized by the pagan party under Thormod, who, rein- 
forced by a Danish fleet under Sithric, for the moment 
threatened to sweep right over France. But King Louis 
took prompt steps to rescue his new ward, and, advancing 
into Normandy, completely routed the Danes in Ponthieu 
at the ' Battle of the Rescue.' Thereafter, as the saviour 
of the country, and the acknowledged overlord of the 
land, Louis proceeded to Rouen, and was kindly enter- 
tained by Bernard and the Christian Danes. But the 
people mistrusted the king, and a tumult at once arose 
in the city, which was at last quelled by Louis producing 
the young Richard, promising to treat him as a son, and 
surrendering him to Bernard and the other Norman 
regents. The regents were in a great difficulty, for it 
was only by the aid of King Louis that they could retain 
their supremacy against the pagan party who were in- 
triguing with Duke Hugh. Accordingly, after Louis had 
sworn, on the golden shrine, the Gospel Book and the Holy 
Rood, that Richard should hold the Terra Northmannorum 



46 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

by hereditary right, he was allowed to leave Rouen for 
Laon, and to take the boy with him, so that he might be 
brought up as a Christian and trained as a Prankish noble. 

With the lad there went as his tutor Osmond, a noble 
Dane. At first all seemed well. Louis with Normandy 
at his beck contemplated the conquest of Flanders and 
the gradual humiliation of Duke Hugh of Paris. The 
Normans were delighted at the projected overthrow of 
Arnulf, one of the murderers of William Longsword. 
But that supple intriguer sent to King Louis an ambassador, 
who, while offering aid against Duke Hugh, secretly 
pointed out that there only stood a boy's life between 
the King and the annexation of the Norman land. 
Whether Louis listened to these infamous proposals 
it is impossible to say, but he certainly changed his 
whole attitude toward Richard, and kept him in the 
closest confinement. The strict imprisonment and want 
of exercise told on the lad's health. His tutor Osmond, 
thinking to trick the king, bade the bo}^ refuse nutriment, 
and simulate great weakness. Soon the lad appeared so 
ill that the guards were withdrawn and all precautions 
relaxed. It was on this that Osmond had counted. One 
evening when the court was at a banquet, he wrapped the 
boy up in a bundle of hay, carried him out of the palace, 
and placing him across his saddle bow rode off to Couci 
and delivered him to Bernard de Senlis, an old friend of 
William Longsword. At Bernard's advice Osmond placed 
Richard under the protection of Duke Hugh, King Louis' 
great enemy. Thereon there followed another piece of 
villainy, for after at first refusing to compel Bernard to 
surrender Richard to King Louis, Duke Hugh entered into 
a secret agreement with the king to partition Normandy. 

It looked as if the Norman power was really destined 
to be overthrown. But Bernard the Dane was a man 
of resource. Throwing in his lot for the moment with 



RICHARD THE FEARLESS 47 

the pagan party, he sent a message to summon Harold, 
the leader of the Danish fleets. This warrior has been 
identified by some as Harold Blaatand or Blue-tooth. 
The Danes were only too ready for the fray. Meanwhile, 
meeting guile by guile, Bernard offered no resistance to 
Louis' advance, and threw open the gates of Rouen. 
Thereafter, having set Louis once again at variance with 
Duke Hugh, he hurried him off to oppose the great Danish 
host which was advancing from the west, well knowing 
that Louis, unaided by Duke Hugh, was sure to be beaten. 
Everything took place as he had calculated : on the banks 
of the Dives, early in 945, the Danes totally routed the 
Prankish king's army ; and Louis, after a personal combat 
with Harold, was taken prisoner, only to escape for the 
moment and be caught by Bernard's emissaries and 
carried to Rouen. 

At Rouen the king was held a close prisoner while his 
enemies consulted as to what to do. Duke Hugh finding 
himself no match for the Danes, and seeing no hopes of 
acquiring power at the expense of the Normans, deter- 
mined to become the arbiter of the king's fate. The 
result was that the young Richard came back to Rouen as 
the recognised lord of the Terra Northmannorum, owning no 
fealty to the King of the Franks. The Norman chroniclers 
would have us believe that a perfect reciprocity was 
established between the Norman duke and the Frankish 
king. Be this as it ma}^ Hugh as his price for helping 
to restore the king was granted the much-coveted rock of 
Laon. But the business did not end here. For the 
Norman leaders recognised the hatred the Franks bore 
them. They saw that if they wanted to exist as a state 
they must definitely enter the political system of their 
neighbours. Accordingly the young duke did homage to 
Duke Hugh and became his man. In return the duke 
affianced him to his daughter Emma, though there could 



48 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

be little question of a marriage for a few years to come, 
Richard being but thirteen years old. As we shall see, 
the treaty thus arranged bore far-reaching results. It 
was this alliance of Paris and Rouen which gave the last 
blow to the tottering throne of the Carolingian kings, and 
went far to establish the dj^nasty which occupied the 
throne of France in unbroken succession from the year 
987 to 1792. Moreover, it is from this year, 945, that we 
date the foundation of the Norman Duchy, whence sprang 
that race of soldier-statesmen, who gained for themselves 
the dominion of England, of southern Italy and Sicily, 
led the crusades, and established the Latin Empire of the 
East. Without the steadying influence of the Duke of 
Paris, it is most unhkely that Duke Richard would have 
been able to resist the intrigues of the counts of Flanders, 
and the other great feudatories of the Frankish king, or 
have had strength to amalgamate the Danes and Franks 
within his domains into the most versatile of Christian 
people, as the Normans actually became. 

While the Lords of Paris and Rouen were thus paving 
the way for their future greatness, the high-spirited 
descendant of the great Charles was not content to be 
stripped of his hereditary possession of Laon by his over- 
mighty feudatory, or to forget the shame of his imprison- 
ment at the hands of the Captain of the Pirates. He 
turned in his dire need to Otto, the king of the Germans. 
While Otto had no desire to see King Louis too powerful, 
he had equally no intention of allowing a new power to 
appear in the west under the aegis of the Duke of Paris. 
Otto, though claiming little of the blood of Charles, had the 
ambition of re-establishing in his own person the empire 
of his grandmother's illustrious forefather. The two 
kings mustered their forces, and Hugh and Richard were 
compelled to take measures to check this coalition. With 
the kings marched Arnulf, the hete noire of the Norman 



RICHARD THE FEARLESS 49 

people. The chronicles expatiate on the vastness of the 
German host, and on the fact that, owing to the heat of 
the summer of 946, the army of the coalition was forced 
to wear straw hats. The first object of attack was Duke 
Hugh, but that shrewd warrior, after carefully provisioning 
the impregnable island fortress of Paris, fell back with his 
forces across the Loire at Orleans. After a vain demon- 
stration against Paris, the army of the kings marched 
northwards against Rouen, where Richard and his advisers 
had made all preparations to resist a siege. For this part 
of the story we are forced to rely entirely on the Norman 
chronicles, for the Prankish annalists cover their disgrace 
by merely alluding to the fact that the royal army had to 
fall back. 

Richard and his Northmen made no attempt to check 
the advance on Rouen, but when the hostile army settled 
down to undertake the siege, the young duke sallied forth 
with his chosen warriors, and great was their success. If 
we may believe the court chroniclers, it was Richard him- 
self who in the first sally slew the Edeling or prince of the 
royal blood. It was this bold sally, no doubt, that won 
for him in later days his title of the Fearless. But it was 
not so much the stubbornness of the Norman defenders, 
as dissensions in the royal camp, which saved the city 
of Rouen. King Otto distrusted Arnulf, who in turn was 
afraid of the German king. The camp of the besiegers 
was full of rumours of treachery, and it required but the 
accidental outbreak of a fire to send the ill-assorted allies 
flying by separate roads for home. Once they found 
their enemies retreating, the Northmen under their young 
duke took up the pursuit, and the confederates were given 
no time to rally. 

The ten years following the deliverance of Rouen were 
on the whole years of peace for the Norman people. On 
one or two occasions Richard had to send help to his 

D 



50 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

liege lord of Paris, when that turbulent feudatory was 
attacked by the Carolingian king. During these years 
Richard came to maturity, and impressed his influence 
deeply on his state. As we have said he was the son of 
the Breton lady Sprotta, and it is doubtful if he had the 
slightest drop of Frankish blood in his veins. His early 
education among the pagan Danes of Bayeux had not 
been obliterated by his year of captivity at the Frankish 
court. During his early manhood, at his most plastic 
age, he was mainly under the influence of his old tutor, 
Osmond, and of Bernard the Dane, the veteran companion 
of his grandfather, Rollo, the ' Ganger.' It was these 
shrewd advisers who taught him to look to the Duke of 
Paris for the advancement of his dominion, and impressed 
on him the necessity of adopting a policy whereby he 
should rid himself and his people of the opprobrious name 
of * pirate.' Richard was clever enough to see the wisdom 
of following this advice. At heart a libertine, he had 
little desire to enter the holy estate of matrimony, 
* Christiano more,' with Emma, daughter of his liege 
lord. He preferred the lighter tie, ' more Danico,' with 
the fair charmer of the hour. Extravagance and pleasure 
were the keynote of his youthful days, and he early showed 
his headstrong character and capacity to impose his will, 
by suddenly deposing Raoul Torta, his seneschal, a stern 
economiser of the revenues of the state. The slightly 
civihsed Danes saw but little to blame in their young 
lord's conduct. His sunny smile and cheery manners, 
his intimate knowledge of the Danish tongue, his delight 
in feats of arms and his prowess in the chase, were things 
that appealed to their hearts. Richard, like many of 
his descendants, expressed in his person the ideas of the 
age, and thus it was that, during these ten years of peace, 
the pagans found that, without interfering with their 
pleasures, they might become in name Christians ; that 



RICHARD THE FEARLESS 51 

hunting, though not so thrilHng as piracy, might become 
a fair substitute for it ; that it was pleasanter to own 
lands and vineyards than to be continually buffeted in 
war ; that it was on the whole more profitable to buy 
the booty of others than go to seek it oneself. Thus it 
was that by the year 956 the old distinguishing line had 
disappeared between the peoples of Bayeux and Rouen. 

In that year Duke Hugh, known by his people as Hugh 
the Great, passed away : his enemy King Louis d'Outremer 
had died two years before him. On his death-bed the 
duke summoned his nobles and gave his last commands. 
Richard must be induced to fulfil his contract and marry 
Emma, for the powers of Paris and Rouen were mutually 
dependent : on no account must his wife Hadwissa and 
his children fall into the hands of King Lothaire, for Hugh 
remembered the early fortune of Richard ; she and her 
children must be placed in the hands of his son-in-law 
to be. Thus it fell about that, on the death of Hugh the 
Great, Richard became the regent of his future brother- 
in-law, Hugh, known to history as Hugh Capet, the first 
Capetian king of France. 

But Lothaire, the new Carolingian king, would not give 
up, without a struggle, his claim to the wardship of so many 
rich fiefs. Though Hugh the Great had found it expedient 
to ally himself with the growing power of Rouen, there 
were many others in France who still hated the Dux 
Piratorum. Hadwissa and the children were captured by 
Lothaire's agents. At once the ruler of Normandy and 
the King of the Franks were brought face to face. Lothaire 
claimed that Richard should do him homage for his 
dominions, and this Richard stoutly refused to do on the 
ground of the agreement of 945. Then for three years 
the rival claimants for the guardianship of Hugh the 
Great's domains snarled at each other. In 959 Lothaire 
thought to checkmate Richard, and break up the ascend- 



52 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

ancy of the dukes of Paris, by dividing the inheritance. 
He gave the duchy of France and the suzerainty of Poitou 
to Hugh, the elder boy, and Burgundy to Eudes, the 
younger. Richard countered by at last celebrating his 
marriage with Emma, and doing homage for his lands 
to the young duke Hugh. 

Lothaire then determined once and for all to sweep 
away the Norman power before the young Hugh was 
capable of helping his brother-in-law. During 960 he 
sounded all Richard's enemies, beginning with Otto, just 
about to be crowned Roman Emperor, who had not 
forgotten his disgrace of fifteen years ago. An attempt 
was made to assassinate Richard like his father, but he 
escaped, and in turn attempted to entrap Lothaire at 
Soissons early in 961. Thereon Lothaire, with his allies 
of Chartres, Flanders and Anjou, advanced against Nor- 
mandy. After failing to lure Richard to a conference, 
the allies were defeated at the battle of the Fords on the 
Eaulne, near Dieppe. The fight was fierce : it commenced 
by the enemy surprising Richard at his midday meal ; 
in the melee which ensued there was little general- 
ship and many hard blows, and Lothaire after being un- 
horsed was glad to call off his men. Richard exultantly 
called out ' Lothaire goes home, a thousand lances shall 
he have for his convoy.' Though thus checked Lothaire 
did not give up the struggle, but proceeded to summon 
Richard to Laon, and in default to condemn him as a felon. 

It was clear that King Lothaire and his advisers had 
declared war to the death. The Duke of France was not 
able to aid his brother-in-law, who was surrounded on 
all sides by a ring of foes : behind the Franks were leagued 
the Germans of the Emperor Otto. Before such a coali- 
tion Duke Richard quailed. In his despair he bethought 
him of his kinsfolk, and sent letters of entreaty to Harold 
Blaatand. The extremity must have been dire, for 



RICHARD THE FEARLESS 53 

Richard well knew how enraged his enemies would be : 
but it was clear that they had already decided to deprive 
him of his land and power. 

The Norsemen gladly responded to the call. England 
protected by King Edgar's fleet was too strong to be 
attacked, and as plunder was always a desirable object, 
they gladly accepted the invitation to harry France. 
Soon their fleet had entered the Seine, and they occupied 
the old Norse camp at Fosse Givolde, where the Seine and 
Eure meet, near the modern Pont de I'Arche. From this 
centre, for twelve months, the freebooters made plunder- 
ing forays into the country of Duke Richard's enemies ; 
and Ponthieu, Flanders, Chartres, Maine and Anjou had 
cause to rue the attempt to oust Duke Richard. Backed 
by such allies none dared face the Norman arms, and in vain 
Lothaire held his councils at Melun and Laon. At last 
the coalition was forced to cry for peace, and Wolfaldus, 
Bishop of Chartres, was sent as envoy to Richard. Richard 
gladly accepted the terms offered, namely the restoration 
of Evreux and all places occupied by his enemies, and the 
guarantee of the Terra Northmannorum by Lothaire. 
But his piratical allies were hard to deal with : they were 
reaping a rich harvest, and had no desire to quit their 
comfortable quarters. When the question of peace was 
placed before the assembled Danes, it was greeted by 
hoots and groans. But the supple Richard got his way. 
By bribing their leaders, by pointing out to one the chance 
of booty in Galicia, by showing another the advantage of 
accepting Christianity, he won over a strong party among 
the captains, and then left them to manage their soldiery. 
These methods proved effectual. A number of the Danes 
accepted Christianity and settled in Normandy, but the 
greater part, well paid, sailed off to Galicia to ravage 
that country. 

The Carolingian dynasty was never strong enough to 



54 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

raise up another coalition against Duke Richard. As 
Duke Hugh came to years of discretion and gradually 
regained the position won by his father, he quickly realised 
the importance of the Norman alliance, in spite of the 
fact that after a few years of unhappy m.arried life his 
sister Emma was glad to leave her faithless husband. It 
was thanks to Richard's steady support that the duke 
was able at last (987) to seize the crown of the Franks 
from the weak Carolingian Louis v. Strong in his alli- 
ance with the Capetian king, Richard was careful for the 
future to play the part of a civilised Christian. He took 
measures so to govern his unruly people that there might 
be no further excuse for casting against him the taunt 
of ' Captain of the Pirates. ' On the whole he was successful, 
save that in 991 he could not restrain his people from 
buying the plunder from the pirates who were ravaging 
the English coasts, and we find King Ethelred remon- 
strating with him for giving refuge to these pirates. His 
long reign came to an end at last in 996 — four j^ears before 
the predicted end of the world. The chronicles tell us 
that Richard died of ' the lesser apoplexy, in the fifty- 
third of his reign, and the sixty-fourth of his age.' 

That, as a man, Richard was great-hearted and noble — 
in spite of his court panegyrists — no one would nowadays 
attempt to assert. But that he was an extraordinarily 
supple and successful statesman no one will deny. When 
he succeeded his father at the age of ten he found his 
people an ill-assorted collection of Norsemen — pagan or 
Christian — with a strong substratum of Frank and Gallic 
peasantry. Norse was the popular tongue of the people : 
their manners were rude ; civilisation had hardly touched 
the majority j for settled life and the organisation of 
national politics they had so far shown no aptitude ; 
what order they had was based on the military and naval 
discipline of a pirate band. Their neighbours regarded 



RICHARD THE FEARLESS 55 

them as the temporary despoilers of a conquered country 
rather than a part of the body pohtic of the Carohngian 
kingdom of the West. When Richard died the situa- 
tion was very different. The people of Normandy had 
entirely adopted the GalHc tongue : their local and ducal 
government was superior to that of any state of the West : 
they had assimilated and converted to their own use the 
principles of feudalism in such a way that, while they had 
become a strong military power, their peasantry was freer 
and better off than that of any of their neighbours : while 
they were now accepted as the most loyal and steadfast 
supporters of the newly-raised dynasty of Paris, and their 
duke was the first and greatest feudatory of the French 
king. 

That this vast change was effected purely by the states- 
manship of the duke would be too bold an assertion. 
Richard was indeed fortunate in his times. The long 
struggle between the German and the Gaul for the leader- 
ship of France came to an issue in his age, and it was 
mainly owing to the steady support of the Duke of Paris 
that the Northmen were recognised as part of the body 
politic of the western kingdom. ' Their presence was 
endured because they were too strong to be got rid 
of,* and because the Duke of Paris could never have 
risen above his compeers without their support. As 
Professor Freeman puts it, * It was the Normans who 
made Gaul French ; it was the Normans who made French 
Paris the capital of Gaul, and who gave Gaul the French 
lord of Paris for her king. On the other hand, it was the 
Capetian Revolution which gave Normandy its definite 
position in Gaul and in Europe.' 

Still, we must allow that it was the clever handling of 
this state of affairs by Duke Richard which brought about 
the desired result. As regards the internal administra- 
tion of the duchy, the work was entirely Richard's. In 



56 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

his own career he personified the changes which took 
place in his reign. The son of a Norse father and a 
Breton mother, he was by instinct and training a Norse- 
man: yet he gradually dropped the Danish tongue and 
affected that of the French. A pagan at heart he 
saw the immense advantage to be derived from out- 
wardly preferring Christianity. His magnificent minster 
attached to the ducal palace at Fecamp, and the famous 
house of Saint Michael in Peril of the Sea (Mont St. 
Michel), illustrate the importance he attached to the 
reputation of being a Christian. They form a striking 
contrast to his father's notions on the subject. WiUiam 
Longsword was content with a little chapel made out of 
the rubble which was over from the building of his palace. 
The depth of Richard's religious principles can easily be 
seen by the number of his marriage connections, * Danico 
more,' and by his toleration of the sensual Hugh, Arch- 
bishop of Rouen. Still, little as he was a Christian at 
heart, he had a great sense of the importance of due order 
and solemnity in things religious. His illegitimate son, 
Robert, Hugh's successor in the see of Rouen, was most 
carefully trained as a clerk. It was during his reign that 
the famous Cluniac abbey of Bee was established, whence 
he obtained the monks for his new foundation of Fecamp. 
Though illiterate, he to some extent fostered learning, 
and invited Dudo, a canon of St. Quentin, to write a 
panegyric on his house. 

He provided for the security of the ducal throne by 
the careful way in which he granted lands to his numerous 
sons, and his half brother. The right of succession of 
Richard the Good, his eldest son by his Danish wife Gunnor 
— sister-in-law of the Forester of Arques — was never 
challenged. The new duke came to the throne surrounded 
by a body of famous kinsmen — Rudolf, Count of Ivry, 
the son of the widow of William Longsword, by the miller 



RICHARD THE FEARLESS 57 

Sperling : his own half-brothers, Robert the Archbishop • 
WiUiam, called the Bastard of Normandy ■ Geoffrey, the 
ancestor of the Earls of Clare. Richard's daughters all 
married well : Maud became Countess of Tours, Blois 
and Champagne ; Havissa, Duchess of Brittany ; Emma, 
twice Queen Regnant of England. Meanwhile in the 
country there was springing into being a sturdy lesser 
nobility like the Tancreds of Hauteville, so soon to be 
of European renown ; while the peasantry were so far 
advanced that when they revolted at the beginning of 
the new duke's reign, they had leaders of sufficient political 
intelligence to form a ' commune ' : the word which we 
find applied later to the important corporations of Rouen 
and London. 

Thus it was that the bold, pleasant-mannered libertine 
laid the foundation of that state, whose political influence 
on modern Europe it is almost impossible to exaggerate • 
for who can say what would have been the course of 
history if there had been no Capetian dynasty in France, 
no Norman conquest of England, no re-establishment 
of the Papacy, no Norman kingdom of Naples and 
Sicily, no crusades and no Latin Empire of the East ? 



HILDEBRAND, POPE GREGORY VII 

The life of Richard the Fearless plainly exemplified the 
causes which had led to the dissolution of the Roman Empire, 
re-established by Charlemagne. Lack of administrative 
organisation, absence of identity of interest among the 
different peoples of the empire, difficulty of communica- 
tion, and want of capacity in the holder of the Imperial 
office had resulted in political chaos. The fierce incur- 
sions of Dane, Saracen and Magyar, had broken down 
what remained of the old system of local self-government. 
They had forced the various people who comprised the 
empire to seek safety under the banners of their local 
counts and dukes, and had thus accentuated the growth 
of feudalism as a system of government and of military 
service. The growth of feudalism varied no doubt in 
different portions of the empire ; it was certainly more 
fully developed in France than in Germany. In that 
country, from 919 to 1024, there succeeded to the Caro- 
lingians a line of Saxon kings of strong personality and 
great ability. The first of these, Henry the Fowler, was 
never emperor. But it was thanks to his policy that his 
son Otto I., who succeeded him in 936, had been able so 
far to strengthen himself in his own dominion that he had 
gradually extended his influence into Italy. In 962 Otto 
was strong enough to have himself crowned as emperor 
by Pope John xii. 

The policy of the Saxon emperors was twofold : first 
to protect their domains by a ring of Marks or military 

58 



HILDEBRAND, POPE GREGORY VII 59 

settlements, the most famous of which were the Ost 
Mark — the later Oesterreich or Austria — and the Alt Mark 
and Neu Mark of Brandenburg, from whence sprang the 
kingdom of Prussia ; secondly, to call in the aid of 
ecclesiastics to help to govern their vast domains. As in 
England, the unity of the Church was to become the 
pattern of the unity in the state. But Otto found out 
to his cost that * the German Church was not self-con- 
tained or self-sufhcing. Over the German Church ruled 
the Roman pope. He could only secure the obedience 
of the German Church by securing the submission or 
co-operation of the head of the Christian world.' 

In Italy the Carolingian line of kings had also died out. 
In the middle of the tenth century the crown was claimed 
by Lothaire, son of King Hugh of Provence, and by 
Berengar, Marquis of Ivrea. Meanwhile the Papacy was 
at the depth of its degradation. * The Roman pontiffs 
of the ninth and tenth centuries were insulted, imprisoned 
and murdered by their tyrants (the Roman nobles), and 
such was their indigence, after the loss and usurpation of 
the ecclesiastical patrimonies, that they could neither 
support the state of prince nor exercise the charity of 
priest.' Theodora and Marozia, two Roman ladies of 
high birth, for long controlled the Roman Church. ' The 
bastard son, grandson, and the great grandson of Marozia, 
a rare genealogy, were seated in the chair of St. Peter.' 
It was the second of these, Pope John xii., who called in 
Otto to his aid, hoping to rid himself of King Berengar, 
who had defeated his rival and who, as King of Italy, 
looked with ill-favour on the attempt of Pope John to 
re-establish the temporal power of the Papacy in central 
Italy. The pope soon found that he had delivered him- 
self into the hands of a hard taskmaster. While the 
newly crowned emperor confirmed the claims of the pope 
to the patrimony of St. Peter, he distinctly reserved the 



6o LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

imperial supremacy over the Papacy. He decreed that 
no pope could be consecrated until he had taken the oath 
of fealty to the emperor. Later he proceeded to put his 
claim into practice, and deposed the evil-hving Pope John 
XII., and had a nominee of his own elected in his place. 

For the moment it seemed as if Otto had gained what 
he required. With complete control of the Papacy he 
remoulded the German Church to his will, and reigned 
securely over both Germany and Italy. But the connection 
between Italy and Germany was to be the bane of the 
empire. With the machinery of government of that 
day and the difficulties of communication, it was almost 
more than one man's task to rule Germany, but with Italy 
added it became impossible. There nearly always lay a 
choice between sacrificing Germany to Italy or Italy to 
Germany. With the exception of Otto iii., the policy of 
the Saxon emperors was to subordinate Italy to Germany, 
the Papacy to the empire, and to use the Church as a 
department of government. 

During the early years of the eleventh century there 
was a great revival of religious feeling throughout the 
world. The revival started from below. Although the 
Saxon emperors stopped some of the worst abuses of 
papal elections, with the exception of Otto iii., they were 
not very particular as to the moral character of the pope, 
as long as they found in him a pliant tool. Thus it was 
that except Bruno, the kinsman of Otto iii., known as 
Pope Gregory v., and Gerbert, the famous scholar, known 
as Sylvester ii., there was no man of mark among the 
successors of St. Peter. Indeed, at the beginning of the 
eleventh century, under the evil influence of the Counts 
of Tusculum, the Papacy became as degenerate as it had 
been under the nominees of Marozia. Meanwhile, as long 
as the Church was submissive to the emperor, Henry ii., 
the last Saxon, and Conrad ii., the first Franconian 



HILDEBRAND, POPE GREGORY VII 61 

emperor, were too much occupied in maintaining their 
position in Germany to trouble much about the lives or 
private characters of the various popes. But in 1039 
there came to the Imperial throne the Emperor Henry iii. 
Henry had been crowned King of Germany and Burgundy 
during the lifetime of his predecessor, and there was prac- 
tically no opposition to his ascent to the throne. Within 
two years he compelled the Duke of Bohemia to do him 
homage, defeated the Hungarians, and forced them to 
sue for peace. By stern measures he suppressed the right 
of private war between the vassals of his kingdom. By 
1046 he had so firmly established his position in Germany 
that he could think about crossing the Alps and receiving 
the Imperial crown. But the question that at once 
arose was by whom should he be crowned. There were 
no less than three rival popes. A sovereign like Henry 
who was thoroughly imbued with the religious spirit of 
the Cluniac movement, and who had striven to suppress 
simony and disorder in the Church in his own dominions, 
could not receive the Imperial crown from the hands of a 
simoniacal pope. 

The three popes were Benedict ix., who, in 1033, at the 
age of twelve, had been elevated to the chair of St. Peter 
by the Counts of Tusculum ; Sylvester iii., elected pope 
in 1044 by the citizens of Rome, in their utter disgust at 
the sacrileges of Benedict { and Gregory vi., who in the 
same year bought the Papacy from the reinstated Benedict, 
who sold it, either from sheer greed of money, or as some 
say from the desire to marry his cousin. Gregory vi., as 
John Gratian, had been arch-presbyter. He was a man 
of some learning and of irreproachable life : he had used 
his great wealth to purchase the Papacy with the hope of 
restoring the position of the Head of the Church. But 
his attempts to regain the property of the see, to rebuild 
the churches and to re-establish ecclesiastical discipline. 



62 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

failed • and the Counts of Tusculum brought back their old 
nominee Benedict. 

The situation was impossible, and Peter, the Archdeacon 
of Rome, after summoning a meeting of the bishops, 
clergy, monks and laity, hastened to Germany to invoke 
the aid of King Henry. At a synod held at Sutri in the 
presence of the king, Pope Gregory degraded Sylvester, 
and then proceeded to declare his own simony and degraded 
himself. Two days later another synod was held at 
St. Peter's, and Benedict also was degraded. The nomina- 
tion of the new pope lay in the king's hands : he chose 
Suidger, Bishop of Bremen, a man of unquestioned piety, 
and himself led him to the papal chair, where he was 
acclaimed pope by universal assent under the title of 
Clement ii. On the next day — Christmas Day 1046 — 
Henry and his wife received the Imperial crown at the 
hands of the new pope. It seemed as if the policy of the 
Saxon emperors was at last complete. A German king 
had received the Imperial crown from the hands of a 
German pope nominated by himself. 

While the new pope was busily engaged ordaining 
bishops, punishing simony and restoring the temporal, 
ecclesiastical and spiritual prestige of the Papacy, his 
predecessor, Gregory vi., was wending his way to Germany 
in the train of the emperor. With him there went his chap- 
lain, the monk Aldobrandini, better known as Hildebrand. 
The chaplain, a man in the prime of his life, had been born 
at Rovaco, near Soana, a small Tuscan town not far 
distant from Orbitello. To the outward eye there was 
little to call for attention in the small ungainly monk 
whose dull complexion and feeble voice were only relieved 
by a bright piercing eye, which alone betrayed his rest- 
less activity and unconquerable spirit. But the son of the 
Bonzio, the village carpenter, had already attracted the 
notice of those whose business it was to study the character 



HILDEBRAND, POPE GREGORY VII 63 

of men. Educated by his maternal uncle, the Abbot of 
St. Mary's on the Aventine, he had early acquired a par- 
ticular veneration for the Virgin Mary, and as soon as 
he had arrived at manhood had taken the cowl. The 
monastery of St. Mary on the Aventine was the place 
where the Abbot of Clugny resided when he visited Rome ; 
it was also the retreat of Laurentius, the pious and scholarly 
Bishop of Amalfi. Thus it was that at an early age 
Hildebrand was brought into contact with all that was 
best in the learned and spiritual world of the Church. 
Legend says that when still a mere boy, Odilo, the founder 
of the celebrated monastery of Clugny, had seen sparks 
issuing from Hildebrand's clothing; and had predicted 
that he, like John the Baptist, would * be great in the 
sight of the Lord.' 

To one whose intellect led to asceticism, who saw in 
the conquest of the flesh the sure way to the victory of 
the spirit, nothing could have been more repugnant than 
the general social condition of the Church in Rome under 
the Tusculan popes. The clergy lived in open concubinage, 
gross sensual sin was rife, the only road to preferment 
lay through simony, the riches of the Church were devoted 
to worldly pleasures, and the material as well as the moral 
fabric of the Church lay in ruins. It is little wonder then 
that Hildebrand, finding his high aspirations treated with 
scorn, determined to seek in the monastery that peace of 
the soul which he found himself unable to obtain in the 
worldly atmosphere of Rome. But a vision which he 
had of St. Peter commanding him to return to his appointed 
sphere of duty appealed to his mysticism, and the young 
monk braced himself to face his appointed task. His 
friend and adviser, the Bishop of Amalfi, introduced him 
to the notice of John Gratian, who was collecting round 
himself all those who longed for better things. Whether 
the specious plea of doing evil that good might arise from 



64 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

it convinced Hildebrand, for the time, of the expediency 
of purchasing the Papacy, it is impossible to say. Any- 
how, he was faithful in good fortune and in bad to Pope 
Gregory vi. As he journeyed northwards with the fallen 
pope, reviewing the situation, he must have been quick 
to recognise the outstanding fact that, as long as the 
Papacy was under the control of the temporal power, so 
long was there no guarantee that the highest spiritual 
office on earth should be occupied by one who was worthy 
of the dignity. In an age when everything depended 
on brute force, the necessary corollary to this was that 
the Papacy should become a great temporal power inde- 
pendent of the emperor. 

Hildebrand's sojourn in Germany came to an end early 
in 1048, when the ex-pope died. Thereafter he returned to 
his beloved retreat of Clugny, but his period of rest was 
short. The Italian climate was fatal to the lives of the 
German popes : Clement 11. and Damasus 11. died in quick 
succession. In August 1048 the emperor was again asked 
to nominate a pope, and his choice fell on his kinsman, 
Bruno, Bishop of Toul. Bruno had accepted, as a divine 
call, the bishopric of Toul in his twenty-third year, because 
his selection had been the unanimous choice of clergy and 
people, and because the see was poor. His success at Toul 
had resulted in the checking of simony and the reformation 
of the monasteries after the pattern of Clugny. He had 
moreover rendered great political service to the emperor 
in his quarrels with his most formidable opponent, Duke 
Godfrey of Lotharingia, and in his negotiations with the 
King of France. The emperor therefore was nominating 
as pope the best spiritual statesman of the day. But 
unfortunately, the more conscientiously the emperor acted, 
the more he hurried on the great struggle which was already 
impending between the temporal and the spiritual power. 

Bruno spent the three days after his nomination in prayer 



HILDEBRAND, POPE GREGORY VII 65 

and fasting, and then only accepted on the condition that 
his appointment should be ratified by the free choice of the 
clergy and people of Rome. He set out for Italy as a humble 
pilgrim, stopping on his way through Burgundy at Clugny. 
There, at the suggestion of Hugh, the prior, he constrained 
Hildebrand to join his fortunes. Hildebrand, if one is to 
believe his letters, consented to do so with great reluctance. 
It was only admiration for Bruno's attitude towards the 
emperor, and for his determination to owe the papal tiara to 
the election of the clergy and people of Rome, which tore 
him from the monastery. When the Romans saw Bruno 
walking barefoot into the city, their shouts of admiration 
left no doubt of their approval ; on February 12th, 1049, 
he was consecrated pope as Leo ix. 

One of the new pope's first acts was to make Hildebrand 
cardinal-archdeacon. Hildebrand at once set to work to 
replenish the papal exchequer. The nobles of Benevento 
and a rich Jew, Benedict, supplied the immediate necessities; 
and meanwhile the indefatigable cardinal-archdeacon, 
by judicious flattery here, and timely presents there, won 
over all sections of the populace to the new pope. It was 
not only the details of administration which Hildebrand 
learned from his position of right-hand man. Pope Leo 
in his synods and by personally visiting the churches 
abroad was adding enormously to the prestige of the 
Papacy, and paving the way to its assertion of world-wide 
power. To commence with, he concentrated his attention 
on attempting to stamp out simony, on enforcing the celi- 
bacy of the clergy, and on maintaining unity of doctrine in 
the Church. These three objects once attained, he might 
then go on to the question of the right of the lay power to 
investiture. With this in view the pope and his friend 
visited Germany and France. The emperor met Leo at 
Cologne ; but King Henry of France, jealous of external 
interference in his kingdom, refused to attend the Great 

E 



66 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

Council held at Rheims, where two bishops were deposed 
for simony, and others excommunicated for f aihng to attend 
the council. 

On his return to Rome the pope held a synod at Easter 
1050. At this synod Berengar of Tours was condemned 
for teaching the doctrine of the Real Presence at the Holy 
Eucharist, in contradistinction to the recognised doctrine 
of the Church which taught material transubstantiation : 
that is, that the elements were changed from bread and wine 
into actual body and blood. But the question was not 
finally settled at the synod, and in 1054 Hildebrand was 
sent as papal legate to compose the strife which Berengar's 
doctrine had provoked in the Church in France. Hilde- 
brand himself sympathised with Berengar, and perhaps even 
inclined to his doctrine. But his belief in the necessity of 
the omnipotence and consequent omniscience of the Papacy 
forced him to uphold the pope and the council. During 
his journey northwards he persuaded himself of the right- 
ness of his action, and Vvas often heard to mutter, ' Invincible 
are the faith and arms of Rome,' and to recite from the 
Psalm, 'Blessed are they who keep His testimonies and seek 
Him with their whole heart.' At Tours, the stronghold of 
the heretics, Hildebrand summoned a council, and extorted 
from Berengar an ambiguous avowal of the belief, that the 
bread and wine actually become the body and blood of 
Christ by consecration. 

From France the successful legate was hastily recalled 
by the news that the pope was a prisoner in the hands of the 
Normans. The men of Normandy had originally been called 
into southern Italy in 1017 by Meles, a Lombard of Bari, 
who was rebelling against the eastern empire. The first 
settlement was in 1030, when Sergius, the Prince of Naples, 
who had bought Norman swords to defend the possessions 
of the eastern empire in Italy, granted to Ranulf, the 
leader of the mercenaries, the town of Aversa. From that 



HILDEBRAND, POPE GREGORY VII 67 

time onwards the Normans no longer came in isolated bands 
to sell their swords to the highest bidder, but sought to 
carve out principalities for themselves. In 1038 three sons 
of Tancred of Hauteville left their father's small estate in 
the Cotentin to join their kinsmen in Italy. Their names 
were William of the Iron Arm, Drogo, and Humphrey. In 
1046 William of the Iron Arm, who had become Norman 
Lord of Apulia with Melfi as his capital, died. His brother 
Drogo succeeded him, and a fourth brother, Robert Guis- 
card, came to Italy. Robert was to become the founder of 
a new kingdom and a leader of the crusaders. In 1052 
the Emperor Henry granted the duchy of Benevento to 
the papal see. In May of the next year the pope with a 
motley army proceeded southwards to take possession of his 
new territories. The Normans were not prepared to give 
up the country which they now regarded as their own, and 
their small but highly-trained force easily defeated the 
papal arms at Civitate in June. The conquerors treated 
the head of the Church with every respect, and liberated 
him after nine months' honourable captivity. While a 
prisoner, the pope carried on a heated correspondence with 
Michael Caerulius, the Patriarch of Constantinople, as to 
the use of unleavened bread in the Eucharist, and on the 
question of which of them was universal bishop. Leo left 
Benevento for Rome to die there on April 19th, 1054. 

When Hildebrand arrived in Rome, the first and most 
vital question was the choice of the new pope. With the 
Norman question still unsettled it v/as no time, even if it 
had been politic, to quarrel with a man of such sterling 
qualities and such devotion to the Church as the Emperor 
Henry iii. Accordingly, the cardinal-archdeacon used his 
influence, and was appointed by the clergy and people of 
Rome to lead a deputation to the German court to request 
the emperor to nominate a successor to Leo. Henry 
nominated Gebhard of Eichstadt, a man in the prime of 



68 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

life, wealthy, high principled, and skilled in political and 
ecclesiastical affairs. The new pope took the title of 
Victor II. His pontificate was short, as he died in 1057. 
During his reign Hildebrand's influence continued to 
increase. 

Meanwhile an event occurred which brought about an 
entire change in the political situation of the empire. 
In 1056 the great Emperor Henry iii. died at the age of 
thirty-nine, and left as his successor his son Henry. This 
boy, then only six years old, was immediately crowned at 
Aachen by Pope Victor. A long minority was nearly 
always fatal to the authority of the crown in mediseval 
times, and the case of Henry iv. was no exception to the 
rule. For the next twenty years Germany was rent by 
rebellion. Meanwhile in Italy the opponents of the 
Imperial power at once showed their heads. The leaders 
of opposition to Henry iii. both in Italy and Germany 
had been the dukes of Lotharingia or Lorraine. Duke 
Godfrey had strengthened his position by marrying 
Beatrice, the widow of the Count of Tuscany. One of 
King Henry's last acts had been to capture Beatrice and 
her children, as he could not allow Duke Godfrey to 
administer Tuscany. Nothing better exemplifies the 
change caused by the death of Henry iii. than the fact 
that Duke Godfrey returned to Italy with the pope, after 
the coronation of the young king, as chief representative 
of the Imperial power, and the guardian of his step- 
daughter Matilda, who, by the death of her mother, had 
inherited the fief of Tuscany. Pope Victor was succeeded 
by Duke Godfrey's brother, Frederic, Abbot of Mount 
Cassino, as Stephen ix. On Stephen's death in the follow- 
ing year the Counts of Tusculum terrorised Rome and placed 
on the papal chair one of the Crescentii, as Benedict x. 
But Hildebrand saved the situation. With the aid of 
Duke Humphrey the reforming party among the cardinals 



HILDEBRAND, POPE GREGORY VII 69 

chose as pope Gerhard, Bishop of Florence, a Burgundian 
by birth, a Cluniac by policy. Supported by the troops 
of Duke Godfrey and the Countess Matilda, Gerhard, under 
the title of Nicolas 11., drove out Benedict and entered 
Rome as orthodox pope. 

Pope Nicolas nominated Hildebrand as Archdeacon, 
and during all his pontificate allowed him to act as his 
chief minister. And well he might, for Hildebrand, by 
his astute policy, had proclaimed to the world that the 
Church was no longer necessarily dependent on the emperor 
for support against its material foes. During the three 
years of Nicolas' pontificate he worked hard to secure this 
position. ' Strong in the loyalty of the Countess Matilda, 
with the emperor a minor and the regents ecclesiastics, too 
occupied in Germany to turn their attention to Italy, even if 
they had dared to controvert the action of the head of the 
Church, Hildebrand seized the opportunity of so ordering 
the papal elections that, in future, there should be no 
necessity to call in foreign intervention. A synod was held 
at the Lateran in 1059, and a decree was drawn up setting 
aside the vague claim of the Roman clergy and people to 
choose the pontiff, and placing the election in the hands of 
the seven cardinal bishops of the suburbicarian dioceses. 
These cardinal bishops were to call in to their aid the 
cardinal priests and deacons, whose assent was to represent 
that of the clergy and people. It was also laid down as a 
general rule that, when possible, a Roman clerk was to be 
preferred if worthy. The right of King Henry and his 
successors to confirm the appointment was reserved, but 
in a way which suggested that it was rather a compliment 
than an immemorial legal due. The wisdom of the scheme 
is seen in the fact that, though details have been altered 
at various times, the legal right of the cardinals to choose 
the pope has never since been challenged. Further, though 
it did not prevent the appearance of anti-popes, still by 



70 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

embodying custom it gave these interlopers the condemna- 
tion of illegality. 

The most pressing necessity was to arrange a modus 
Vivendi with the Normans : these capable soldiers and 
administrators were eating up southern Italy. Roger 
of Hauteville, the youngest son of Tancred, had arrived, 
and by the aid of his brother Robert had carved out for 
himself a principality in Calabria. Robert Guiscard was 
now Lord of Apulia and part of Calabria, and Richard of 
Aversa had driven the Lombards out of Capua. There was 
no longer any question of the possibility of expelling the 
Normans from the country ; moreover, they did not show 
themselves hostile to the Church. Hildebrand therefore 
persuaded Nicolas to treat them as friends, not as foes. 
He pointed out the gain that would arise to the Papacy, in 
times of difficulty, from having at its back the first soldiers 
in the world. Nicolas accordingly allowed his archdeacon 
to go and negotiate with the Normans. The result was 
that, in the summer of 1059, the pope himself attended a 
synod at Melfi, the Apulian capital. There, after passing 
canons condemning the marriage of priests, he proceeded 
to business of another nature. At Hildebrand's sugges- 
tion he solemnly granted to Robert Guiscard the duke- 
doms of Apulia and Calabria, and the kingdom of 
Sicily also, if he could conquer it from the Moors ; and 
to Richard of Aversa he granted the dukedom of Capua. 
None of these territories belonged to him, and he had no right 
to grant them ; still the recipients in return for their titles 
to these lands agreed to hold them as the pope's vassals, 
paying an annual rent of twelve pence for each ploughland. 
The importance of this new alliance cannot be overrated, 
for by binding to itself the strongest military power in 
Italy, the Holy See was enabled to wield the temporal 
sword with almost as much effect as the spiritual. It 
was, in effect, the foundation stone of the vast papal 



HILDEBRAND, POPE GREGORY VII 71 

edifice which Hildebrand had long been planning in his 
mind. 

On July 27th, 1061, Nicolas 11. died, and the nobles of 
Rome, in defiance of the newly laid down regulations for 
papal elections, at once sent to the young King Henry, 
asking him to nominate a new pope. Meanwhile, Hilde- 
brand and his party held their hand, waiting to see if they 
could depend on their allies, Duke Godfrey, the Countess 
Matilda, and the Normans. On October ist, after Hilde- 
brand had called the cardinals together, they elected 
Anselm of Lucca, a man of good family — educated at 
Bee by Lanfranc, future Archbishop of Canterbury — a 
passionate opponent of simony and clerical marriage. 
Escorted by Norman troops Anselm was enthroned pope 
under the title of Alexander 11. There were signs, however, 
that the election would be challenged. The Norman 
troops were unpopular in Rome ; the new pope was 
detested by the Lombards, who disliked papal interference 
and the attempt to impose celibacy on the clergy ; and 
the Imperial court was sure, if it saw a chance, to try to 
regain its old control of papal elections. At the end of 
the month a synod, summoned by the Empress Agnes, in 
the name of her son, and attended by the envoys of the 
Roman nobles and a large number of Lombard and German 
bishops, annulled the election of Alexander and appointed 
Cadalus, Bishop of Parma, as pope under the title of 
Honorius ii. Soon Rome itself was the scene of a struggle 
between the rival pontiffs. There followed a distressing 
time when to Hildebrand it must have seemed as if his 
life work lay shattered. 

It was thanks to a revolution in Germany that Alexander 
was at last recognised as pope. Hanno, Archbishop of 
Cologne, by a coup-de-main seized the regency, and, to 
strengthen his position, threw in his lot with Hildebrand's 
party. But in 1065 Hanno was supplanted by his rival 



72 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

Adalbert, Archbishop of Bremen, and it seemed as time 
went on as if the only hope of a settlement must come 
from a visit of Henry, who was now of age, to Italy. This 
visit Hildebrand opposed with all his might, as he still 
clung to the hope of making the Papacy an independent 
power. The decision was wise ; the anti-pope with no 
official aid became a mere nonentity. Year by year 
Alexander, thanks to Hildebrand's cleverness, became 
stronger ; and at last, in 1070, he was able to demonstrate 
his power by making an example of those who notoriously 
defied the decrees of simony and clerical marriage. 
Archbishops Siegfrid and Hanno, and the Bishop of Bam- 
berg were summoned to Rome, convicted of simony, and 
sent home after begging for pardon in humiliating terms. 

In 1072 the anti-pope Honorius died, and the following 
year he was followed to the grave by his rival. Pope 
Alexander. Hildebrand at once proclaimed a three days' 
fast and prayer. Throughout the city, until the funeral 
obsequies of the late pope were celebrated, there was 
unwonted tranquillity. But scarcely had the cofQn been 
placed in the grave when the multitude burst into the 
Lateran Church, shouting, * Let Hildebrand be bishop.' 
Hildebrand strove to quiet the tumult, but Cardinal Hugh 
pushed to the front and gained the ear of the mob. 
' Brethren,' he said, ' you know how since the days of 
Leo IX. Hildebrand hath exalted the Holy Roman Church, 
and delivered our city from bondage. As it is impossible 
to find a better man, or indeed his equal, we elect him who 
has been ordained in our Church, and is well known and 
thoroughly approved amongst us.' With shouts of 
* St. Peter wills Hildebrand to be pope,' he was carried 
protesting to the church of St. Peter ad Vincula, and 
there elected by the cardinals amidst the acclamation of 
the people and clergy — * as a man eminent in piety and 
learning, a lion of equity and justice, firm in calamity, 



HILDEBRAND, POPE GREGORY VII 73 

temperate in prosperity, according to the Apostolic pre- 
cept, " of good behaviour, modest, sober, chaste, hospit- 
able, ruling his house well," brought up and taught from 
boyhood within the bosom of this our Church, already for 
his merits advanced to the office of archdeacon, whom 
now and henceforth we will to be called Gregory, Pope, 
and Apostolic Primate.' 

The event had come which the newly created pope 
must have long foreseen. But, now that the oppor- 
tunity had arrived, he recognised more clearly than ever 
the difficulties which beset his heart's desire — the reforma- 
tion of the world by means of the universal monarchy 
of the Papacy, and he spent five days in retirement, in 
prayer, and in writing for the prayers of his friends. 

Politically the situation was threatening. In spite of 
the rules drawn up by himself, he took no steps to seek 
confirmation of his election at the hands of King Henry ; 
and that monarch, while he did not oppose the election, 
never confirmed it. Meanwhile the Normans were hostile. 
The Hauteville brothers attacked Richard of Capua, the 
faithful vassal of the Papacy. Robert Guiscard went so 
far as to incur excommunication for threatening the papal 
possession of Benevento. Hildebrand's great project of 
sending help to the Emperor Michael vii. failed : for the 
princes he summoned refused to go. The only reassuring 
factor was the loyal support of the Countess Matilda, but 
even her troops mutinied when ordered on the crusade. 
Then it was that he wrote to the Abbot of Clugny, * I 
would have you know the anguish that assails my soul. 
The Church of the East has gone astray from the Cathohc 
faith. If I look to the west, the north, or the south, I 
find but few bishops whose appointments and whose lives 
are in accordance with the law of the Church, or who 
govern God's people through love and not through worldly 
ambition. Among princes, I know not one who sets the 



74 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

honour of God before his own, or justice before gain. If 
I did not hope that I could be of use to the Church, I 
would not remain at Rome a day.' But Pope Gregory 
ever knew the value of boldness, especially in the face of 
foes whose fatal weakness was want of unity of interest. 

In February 1075 he held a synod at Rome, at which, 
after passing the usual decrees against simony and clerical 
marriage, he proceeded to attack the practice of lay in- 
vestiture. Everywhere, but especially in Germany, the 
sovereigns of the West had attempted to strengthen the 
royal power by granting great territories to ecclesiastical 
personages, who were not supposed to be able to found 
families of their own, and whose interests, they hoped, 
would thus be closely allied with those of the grantor. 
This practice of granting bishoprics and abbeys to men 
chosen by the temporal power, and of conferring the 
spiritual symbols of the ring and crosier by the lay hand, 
was regarded by the Cluniac party as a glaring aggres- 
sion by the temporal on the spiritual power. The decrees 
of 1075 resulted in a struggle between the Papacy and the 
empire, which convulsed Europe for the next half century. 
' If any. one,' so ran the decree, * hereafter shall receive 
from the hand of any lay person a bishopric or abbey, let 
him not be considered as abbot or bishop, and let the 
favour of St. Peter and the gate of heaven be forbidden 
to him. If an emperor, a king, a count, or any other 
person presume to give investiture of any ecclesiastical 
dignity, let him be excommunicated.' The immediate 
enforcement of this decree was bound to upset the political 
stabiHty of nearly all the kingdoms of the West. Opposi- 
tion came first from Germany : for at the same synod 
certain German bishops, friends of the king, were ex- 
communicated for simony and non-attendance at the 
council. 

Henry iv. was by now in his twenty-sixth year. He 



HILDEBRAND, POPE GREGORY VII 75 

had had a most unfortunate childhood • his mother Agnes 
was a pious but weak woman ; the various regents had 
each striven to make themselves popular with the young 
king by pandering to his desires and never attempting to 
discipline his habits. Consequently his temper was ill- 
controlled and his character undeveloped. Very soon 
after reaching manhood he married Bertha of Burgundy, 
only to repent of it and seek to divorce her. Meanwhile, 
as we have said before, the long minority had weakened 
the prestige of the crown. It would have required the 
greatest tact and firmness to have controlled the haughty 
and self-willed -magnates who too long had had their own 
way. No sooner had Henry taken the reins of govern- 
ment into his own hands, than trouble began which 
culminated in 1073 in the open revolt of the Saxons. 
After a two years' struggle Henry came victorious out of 
this difficulty. Flushed with his success against the 
Saxons, he at once took up the gauntlet thrown down by 
the pope. He bestowed the bishoprics of Spoleto and 
Parma on Germans, and made Tedald, a Milanese of 
high birth, long resident in Germany, Archbishop of 
Milan. Gregory replied by forbidding the suffragans of 
Milan to consecrate Tedald upon pain of excommunica- 
tion. He also wrote to the king, saying he could not 
give him his apostolic blessing, if he persisted in asso- 
ciating himself with men under the ban of the Church. 
The whole tone of the letter was friendly, but a strong 
verbal warning was sent to the king that, if he persisted 
in his conduct, he would be excommunicated at the Lent 
synod. 

Henry was still elated with his victory over the Saxons, 
and determined to bring matters to a head. Summoning 
his council at Worms, to which twenty-four German 
bishops came, he laid the matter before them. The 
bishops thereon drew up a letter informing Hildebrand 



76 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

that they would no longer obey him, alleging his despotic 
government and his informal election without the consent 
of the head of the empire. The king himself wrote a 
strong letter calling Gregory ' no pope but false monk,' 
telling him Christ had never called him to the priesthood, 
that the German bishops had condemned him, and ending 
with the words, ' Come down, come down.' 

Meanwhile, at Rome, the pope's enemies had attempted 
to take his life. One of the nobles, by name Cencius, got 
together an armed party, and burst in on him while he 
was keeping the vigil of Christmas Day at the church of 
San Maria Maggiore. Gregory escaped with his life : a blow 
aimed at his head failed, as his assailant's foot slipped. 
He was, however, wounded on the chest. Stripped of 
his robes, he was thrown across a horse, and hurried off 
to a strong tower belonging to Cencius. But no sooner 
was the news spread through the town than the mob rose 
in arms and besieged the tower. Cencius flung himself 
at the pope's feet, imploring mercy. Gregory, who had 
never lost his self-possession, replied, ' Thy injuries to 
myself I freely pardon : thy sin against the Lord, His 
Mother, His Apostle, His Church, must be expiated. Go 
on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and if thou returnest alive 
surrender thyself to me that I may decide how thou 
mayest be reconciled to God.' Cencius and his wife then 
fled from Rome, not on a pilgrimage, but to Lombardy, 
to plot with the pope's enemies. Meanwhile this das- 
tardly attack enormously increased Gregory's popularity 
in Rome. 

Such was the state of affairs in Rome when Roland, a 
priest of Parma, arrived with the king's letter. The Lent 
synod was held on February 21st in the Lateran Church. 
There were present the Empress Agnes and a great multi- 
tude of Itahan and French bishops. When Roland 
entered the assembly, he cried out to Gregory, ' The 



HILDEBRAND, POPE GREGORY VIT 77 

king and our bishops bid thee come down from the chair 
of St. Peter, which thou hast gained by robbery.' Then 
addressing the cardinals he added, * Ye are bidden to 
raise another pope by the king who will come hither at 
Pentecost : for this man is no pope but a ravening wolf.' 
If Gregory had not himself protected him, the envoy 
would have been torn to pieces. On the next day, in 
spite of a contrite letter from some of the German bishops, 
excommunication was passed on all who had signed the 
act of the council, and also on the bishops of Lombardy. 
Then came the reply direct to King Henry. ' In the 
honour and security of the Church, in the name of the 
Almighty ' Triune God, I do prohibit Henry, king, son 
of Henry the emperor, from ruling the kingdom of the 
Teutons and of Italy, and I relieve all Christians from the 
oath of allegiance to him, which they have taken, or shall 
take. And inasmuch as he has despised obedience by 
associating with the excommunicated, by many deeds of 
iniquity, and by spurning the warnings which I have given 
him for his good, I bind him in the bands of anathema : 
that all nations may know that thou art Peter, and upon 
this rock the Son of the living God hath built His Church, 
and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.' 

The die was cast : at last the Church had proclaimed 
itself superior to the temporal power. For the moment 
men were more surprised at the hardihood of the king in 
attempting to depose the pope than at the fact that the 
pope had deposed the king. The mysterious and awful 
sanctity of the papal office was universally felt and acknow- 
ledged : moreover, men then believed that the Imperial 
crown had been granted originally to Charlemagne by the 
pope ; if it was his to bestow was it not his to take away ? 
While if the king-emperor could at his will depose the 
pope, the Church was nothing but an inflated baronage of 
the crown. 



78 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

Each side at once took steps to refer the matter to force, 
for in this world even the spiritual power must carry out 
its aims by material means. The pope increased his mili- 
tary strength at Rome, entered into negotiations with 
Robert Guiscard and Roger Hauteville, stirred up the 
Paterini, the enemies of the Lombard bishops, and appealed 
to the lo3^alty of his friend the Countess Matilda. Henry 
on his side had not the same good fortune. The Saxons 
profited by his difficulties and at once revolted : the 
Cluniac movement had made itself widely felt through 
Germany. Saint and zealot armed themselves against the 
king ; only self-seekers and simoniacs took his side ; 
the secular nobility who hated his tyranny stood apart and 
watched events. The Bishop of Metz, the papal legate in 
Germany, organised a coalition against the king ; and, in 
October, a meeting of the nobles and bishops of German}^ 
took place at Tribur. Henry was forced to listen to the 
terms there offered him, which were that he was to remain 
at Speyer without kingly revenues, power, or dignity, until 
the pope arrived in Germany in the following February, to 
decide what was to be done to him. There was nothing 
for it but to accept these conditions. 

During December, however, news arrived that the 
Imperial party was gaining ground : moreover, Henry 
recognised that he could do nothing with the refractory 
nobles until he had made his peace with the pope. He 
accordingly thought that he would steal a march on them 
by hastening to Italy, hoping to appear at the head of a 
force which might compel the pope to take up a less 
inexorable attitude. The winter was terribly severe. 
After keeping Christmas at Besangon with his wife and 
child and a single German noble, he struggled over the 
Mont Cenis Pass at the risk of his life. In spite of the 
entreaties of his partisans he judged that he was not 
strong enough to fight, and accordingly determined to win 



HILDEBRAND. POPE GREGORY VII 79 

back his kingdom by throwing himself on the mercy of 
Gregory. 

When the news of Henry's arrival in Italy reached the 
papal headquarters, the pope, at the advice of his friends, 
retired to Canossa, the impregnable fortress of Countess 
Matilda, perched on a spur of the Apennines about fifteen 
miles from Reggio. Henry arrived at Canossa on January 
2ist, 1077, in severe weather ; the snow lay deep on the 
ground, and he was forced to find a lodging at the bottom 
of the rock on which the castle stood. There he had an 
interview with the Countess Matilda and Hugh, Abbot of 
Clugny. For three days negotiations were carried on, 
but in spite of the entreaties of the countess and the 
abbot, Gregory would listen to no terms until Henry had 
surrendered his crown into his hands. This the king 
refused to do, but determined instead to play the part of a 
penitent suppliant. For three consecutive days, in the 
terrible cold, he stood shivering outside the castle gate, 
barefoot and clad in a coarse woollen shirt, in vain knocking 
for admittance. Then at last, satisfied that the king had 
drained the cup of humiliation to the dregs, the pope 
consented to listen to terms. The cardinal legates on the 
pope's behalf met three Imperial bishops, the Abbot of 
Clugny and several distinguished laymen acting for the 
king. 

The terms were hard. The king was to attend a 
meeting of the German nobles presided over by the pope, 
where his innocence or guilt would be decided ; for the 
present he was to lay aside all insignia of royalty, and abstain 
from all kingly functions. If he broke any of these con- 
ditions another king would forthwith be elected. The terms 
had to be accepted. Then the castle gate was thrown open, 
and the unhappy king was conveyed into the papal 
presence. With the cry, * Holy father, spare me ! ' Henry 
threw himself at Gregory's feet, who raised him up, absolved 



8o LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

him, and after entertaining him kindly sent him away 
with much good advice. 

Dramatic as was the scene at Canossa, it decided nothing. 
For the moment, perhaps, the harshness of the pope 
caused some sympathy for the king, but this was counter- 
balanced by the feeling expressed by man}^ Imperial 
partisans that the king had shown himself a coward. 
Meanwhile the German nobles met at Forchheim in March, 
without the presidency of the pope, for Henry refused after 
all to give him a safe conduct through northern Italy. 
Although not a really representative assembly, the diet 
proceeded to depose Henry, and elected in his stead Duke 
Rudolf of Swabia. There followed three years of civil 
war. At last, in January 1080, Henry was completely 
defeated at Flarcheim. Meanwhile, in spite of the fact 
that during all these years Henry had practised lay in- 
vestiture as freely as before, Gregory had done nothing. 
But in March 1080, yielding to the remonstrances of Rudolf, 
he convoked a synod at Rome, where he renewed the 
excommunication and act of deposition on Henry. ' Act 
so,' he said to the assembled prelates, ' that the world shall 
know that ye who have power to bind and loose in heaven, 
can grant or withhold kingdoms, principalities, and other 
possessions according to each man's merits. And if ye are 
fit to judge spiritual things, ought ye not to be competent 
to judge in things temporal ? ' Thereafter the pope 
recognised Rudolf as king, and passed a universal pro- 
hibition against lay investiture. 

The decision of the diet had an effect quite opposite 
to what Gregory had foreseen ; for instead of once and for 
all crushing Henry, it stung him into fresh activity. The 
deposed king held a meeting of German and Italian bishops 
three months later, and in turn deposed Gregory and 
appointed as his successor Guibert, Archbishop of Ravenna, 
with the title of Clement iii. The unwise prophecy of the 



HILDEBRAND, POPE GREGORY VII 8i 

pope, that before next feast of St. Peter and St. Paul 
(June 29th, 1081) Henry would have lost both his crown 
and his life, proved entirely false. There were now two 
popes and two emperors, and the spiritual power being thus 
divided it was more obvious than ever that the decision 
rested on the sword alone. For the next four years fortune 
favoured the excommunicated emperor and anti-pope. 
In October 1080 Henry was defeated on the bank of the 
Elster, near the famous battlefield of Liitzen, but the defeat 
turned to gain, for Rudolf was slain in the fight. For a 
year or more no rival was put forward by the German 
nobles until Hermann of Luxemburg was elected as Caesar. 
Thus Henry was free to enter Italy. The Countess Matilda 
could not, unaided, withstand him, and for the moment 
the Normans refused to help Gregory. In May 1081 he 
was thundering at the gates of Rome. But the intrepid 
Hildebrand, strong in the affection of the Roman people, 
refused to yield or fly. In the spring of 1082, and again 
in 1083, Henry reappeared before Rome. But, although 
Matilda had by now sent him every penny she could, and 
had melted down the plate of Canossa, and Robert Guiscard 
was absent campaigning across the Adriatic, the pope stood 
firm. Even when Henry had captured Tivoli and seized 
the Leonine city, he would listen to no terms. * Let the 
king lay down his crown and make atonement to the 
Church,' was his only reply to the entreaties of his 
friends. 

The end came at last. Early in the spring of 1084, 
Henry made a demonstration in Apulia to check the Nor- 
mans who were beginning to get ready to assist the pope, 
then hurrying north he reappeared before the gates of 
Rome. This time the citizens would not face a fourth 
siege, and opened their gates. Thereon Gregory retired into 
the castle of St. Angelo. The anti-pope and king summoned 
I a synod, and once again passed sentence of deposition and 



82 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

excommunication on their enemy. On Palm Sunday 
Clement iii. was enthroned, and on Easter day he crowned 
Henry emperor in St. Peter's. Their triumph was short, 
for the Normans were not going to lose their title to their 
lands. Robert Guiscard hurriedly left his army at Durazzo, 
crossed the Adriatic, and collecting a mixed force of thirty 
thousand Normans, Lombards, Apulians and Saracens, 
advanced on Rome. The emperor could not withstand 
such a force, and hastily drew off to the north. The 
Romans attempted to resist, but some traitors opened the 
gates, and the Norman host rushed in and mercilessly 
sacked the city. Gregory did what he could, but in spite 
of his prayers Guiscard either could not or would not 
control his troops, so half the city was reduced to ruins. 
The wretched multitude cursed the pope who had called in 
such an ally. The cruelty of the Normans, as a contempo- 
rary wrote, gained more hearts for the emperor than 
a hundred thousand gold pieces. 

With Rome in such a state the pope was bound to follow 
his deliverers to the south. After some days spent at 
Monte Cassino, he proceeded with a few cardinals and 
Roman nobles first to Benevento and then to Salerno. 
Though broken in health he still retained his fiery spirit. 
From Salerno he thundered anathemas at King Henry and 
Clement. He despatched legates to Germany and France, 
calling on the faithful as they valued their salvation to 
rally to the call of the Holy Roman Church. Meanwhile, 
the troops of Matilda were defeated in July by King Henry, 
the anti-pope held his Christmas at Ravenna, and the Nor- 
mans were busily engaged across the Adriatic. Still the 
pope retained his high spirit, though his health was failing 
fast. But on May i8th he sent for his faithful cardinals, 
and told them that he had but eight days more to live. 
He then reviewed his life, telling them that his supreme 
consolation was the knowledge that he had loved right and 



HILDEBRAND, POPE GREGORY VII 83 

hated wrong. He begged them to dismiss all fear for their 
own futm*e, as he in the other world would commend their 
cause to God. At their request he suggested that Desiderius, 
Abbot of Monte Cassino, should be his successor. As regards 
the excommunicated he said, * Henry and Guibert, with all 
who by consent or deed have supported their impious 
designs, I absolve not : all others I freely bless who hold 
fast the belief that I exercise this power as the repre- 
sentative of St. Peter and St. Paul.' 

On May 25th, 1085, Pope Gregory breathed his last, 
repeating the words, * I set no store by what I have done. 
One thing only fills me with hope. I have loved righteous- 
ness and' hated iniquity — therefore do I die in exile.' 
* Nay,' repHed a bishop to the dying pontiff, * in exile thou 
canst not die, who, as vicar of Christ and His apostles, 
hast received the nations of the earth as thy possession.' 

In the life of most men and most societies there come 
times when, to avoid either material or moral ruin, it is 
necessary to re-examine the principles on which life is based, 
and, breaking entirely with the past, to set forward on a new 
object with steadfast concentration. Such we have seen 
was the case of the western Church at the time that 
Hildebrand was born. The head of the Church was the 
unworthy nominee of the Roman nobility : its treasures 
were scattered ; its fabric in ruins ; its priests were god- 
less ; its monks depraved. It was thanks to the nobility 
of the Emperor Henry iii. that the chair of St. Peter was in 
time occupied by those who were worthy of it. But to 
the clear vision of the young monk Hildebrand, the evil 
though lessened was not eradicated. In his view true 
holiness could never permeate the whole Church until the 
Church had submitted to the Papacy and the world to the 
Church. Recognising what this struggle entailed, he never 
flinched, never compromised, but year in and year out he 
fought with every artifice to attain this end. ' Human 



84 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

pride,' he wrote, * has created the power of kings ; God's 
mercy has created the power of bishops. The pope is the 
master of emperors. He is rendered holy by the merits of 
his predecessor St. Peter. The Roman Church never erred, 
and Holy Scripture proves that it can never err.' 

That he raised the Papacy from the dust, and placed it on 
the pinnacle where these ideals were materialised into fact, 
gained for Gregory his title of the Great, and placed him 
for ever among the famous names of history. It was not 
only in his long struggle with King Henry that he success- 
fully developed the theory that the ' Pope as spiritual head 
of the world is above kings.' The Norman conquerors of 
Sicily recognised that he was their feudal sovereign, although 
the Norman conquerors of England would listen to no such 
claim. King Henry was not the only monarch to suffer the 
papal wrath, for Philip i. of France was denounced by the 
pope as the most simoniacal, adulterous, and sacrilegious of 
kings. So clearly had Hildebrand defined the pretensions 
of the Papacy to rule the world, that for many years his 
successors' right to excommunicate and depose monarchs 
was never challenged by the conscience of Europe. 

As we have said before, the great secret of Gregory's 
success lay in his single-mindedness and his desire 
to do right : but he had many other attributes which 
we must not overlook. His powers of personal mag- 
netism were enormous. In spite of his puny stature and 
mean looks he could dominate men to an extraordinary 
degree. The fanatical monk, Peter Damiani, called him 
his ' Holy Satan.' While scandahsed by the pomp and 
ceremony which Hildebrand, though a professed monk, 
thought necessary to assume as Archdeacon of Rome, 
Peter worshipped him and said to him, ' Thy will has ever 
been a command to me — evil but lawful. Would that I 
had always served God and St. Peter as faithfully as I 
have served thee.' It was this personal magnetism, aided 



HILDEBRAND. POPE GREGORY VII 85 

by a facile tongue and an astute brain, which gained for 
the Papacy the strong support of the Normans. What 
did it matter whether the Church had in reality no title 
to grant the lands of Apulia and Calabria, as long as the 
Normans were willing in return for this unreal title to 
pledge their swords to the Church ? What mattered his 
own personal doubts as to the question of transubstantia- 
tion, as long as Berengar of Tours recanted, and the divi- 
sion in the Church was healed ? ' Invincible are the 
faith and the arms of Rome ' : strong in this belief he was 
ready to do things that were of doubtful morahty, if thereby 
he might attain that which he considered the highest good. 

Self-repression and self-restraint were two strong 
buttresses of his character. For long he remonstrated 
with Henry on his evil life and his disobedience to the 
commands of the council on the question of investiture. 
It was not his own dignity that he was jealous of, but 
that of his office. It was not till the king showed his 
contempt for the Papacy by declaring him deposed, that 
he at last took offensive measures against the crown. 
So we see him forgiving the personal injury done to him 
by Cencius, but unrelenting in his punishment of the 
offence against the successor of St. Peter. In judging 
Hildebrand we must ever keep this in our minds, his clear 
distinction between himself and his office : and if we are 
tempted to think that, at times, personal ambition or pride 
was the keynote to his action, we must remember how, 
had he desired it, he might have been pope long before 
the year 1072. We get a strong confirmation of this view 
from his letters, which reveal an unaffected piety, an 
intimate knowledge of Scripture, and a zeal for the advance- 
ment of all that is best in life. 

But, though we may recognise that the great pope was 
capable of setting aside all personal animosity, he was 
after all but human. Granted that it was his zeal for 



86 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

the Church which constrained him to keep the emperor 
standing, in deep humiliation for three days outside the 
gates of Canossa, while no doubt the lesson thus enforced 
added enormously to the prestige of the Papacy, from 
another point of view it was bad policy. It embittered 
the struggle and gave the Imperial party the plea, that the 
pope was using his high office to vent his private spleen 
against his enemy. The result was a civil war between 
Church and state, which did not end until the two great 
protagonists had ceased to live : in fact it put back all 
chances of a reasonable compromise for fifty years. It 
was not till 1121 that a modus vivendi was at last estab- 
lished between the temporal and the ecclesiastical powers, 
when at Worms it was settled, as had been arranged 
some fifteen years earlier in England, that the investi- 
ture by ring and crosier of the spiritual power should be 
delivered by the Church, but that previous to this ceremony 
the candidate elect should do homage to the temporal 
power for his lands. 



PHILIP AUGUSTUS 

At the death of Pope Gregory vii. we saw the Papacy, in 
spite of its weakness as a temporal power, dominating 
the whole of western Europe. The empire lay distracted 
by civil and ecclesiastical warfare, unable to make good, 
even in Germany and Italy, its claim of representing the 
unity of society for the protection of all Christians, and 
the furtherance of the religion of Christ. Outside the 
nominal border of the empire lay many small feudal 
states ; some owning the pretence of allegiance to 
superiors such as the kings of France or England, others 
proudly denying any such obligation. Everything there- 
fore favoured the growth of the papal power, firmly based 
as it now was on the regenerated monasteries which were 
thickly scattered over all the West, and on the willing 
adhesion of the lower classes, who found, in the Church 
rather than in the king, a strong protector against the 
harshness and arrogance of the feudal lords. 

Ten years after Gregory's death, the religious revival 
which was then sweeping over all civilised Europe re- 
ceived a sudden impetus. At the very commencement 
of the eleventh century, a great Tartar power had arisen, 
which spreading eastward to China had founded a Mon- 
golian dynasty at Peking, and set up a great Turkish 
state in Afghanistan and India under Mahmoud of 
Ghazni. Some fifty years later, in 1055, advancing west- 
wards over the Oxus, the Seljukian Tartars under Togrul 
Beg had seized Bagdad and adopted the religion of 

87 



88 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

Mohammed. By 1071 the Tartar hosts under Alp Arslan, 
the nephew of Torgul, had swept all before them as far 
as Armenia : in that year they annihilated the forces of 
the Byzantine Empire at Manzikert and captured the 
Emperor Romanus iv. It was only the walls of Constanti- 
nople which, three years later, saved the Byzantine capital 
from falling into the hands of the Turks : peace was 
bought by the cession of all lands now in the hands of the 
enemy, so that the Eastern empire ceased for the time to 
be an Asiatic power. 

The presence of these fierce Mongols at Jerusalem was 
brought home to the West by the preaching of Peter the 
Hermit. During the centuries that the Holy City had 
been in the hands of the caliphs, there had been no diminu- 
tion of the streams of pilgrims ; and although the mosque 
of Omar had been built on the site of the old Jewish temple, 
the Holy Sepulchre and the sacred spots remained in 
Christian hands. There were of course dangers to be 
faced by the pilgrim bands, but not insurmountable, only 
sufficient indeed to give zest to the undertaking. But 
with the advent of the Seljukian Turks Jerusalem was 
closed, and the holy places lay in the hands of the infidels. 
The religious revival that issued from Clugny had greatly 
stimulated the desire for pilgrimage, and the preaching 
of Peter the Hermit caused a thrill to pass through all 
devout Christians. But in spite of this. Pope Gregory 
was unable to organise any means to reopen the way to 
Jerusalem. His efforts only ended in the Normans, under 
Robert Guiscard, attacking the Dalmatian province of 
the Byzantine Empire. The success of their arms taught 
the Byzantines that the soldiers of the West were greatly 
superior to their own. Accordingly the Emperor Alexius, 
finding himself again threatened by the Turks, determined 
to seek help from the West. There was no strong kingdom 
to appeal to, so the crafty Byzantine sent an embassy to 



PHILIP AUGUSTUS 89 

Pope Urban 11., entreating him to rescue the Holy City 
from the hands of the infidels. But all he really desired 
was protection from his foe, the sultan of the kingdom of 
Roum. 

Pope Urban received Alexius' envoys at Piacenza : soon 
throughout the West vast crowds were pledging themselves 
to take the cross and fight against Islam for the recovery of 
Jerusalem, crying out, ' It is the will of God.' The first 
crusade was the work of the pope at the instigation of 
the eastern emperor : its leaders were the greater feudal 
barons, Raymond of Toulouse, Robert of Normand}^ 
Godfrey of Lower Lorraine (better known as of Bouillon) , 
Bohemund, the Italian Norman. The result w^as the 
establishment of the Latin kingdom of Jerusalem : a 
western feudal state transplanted into eastern territor}^ 
At its head was the King of Jerusalem, who had a vague 
supremacy over the principaHty of Antioch and the counties 
of Tripoli and Edessa. The kingdom of Jerusalem was 
itself com.posed of twelve great lordships, over which the 
king had but little power, save in the royal demesnes round 
Jerusalem, Tyre and Sidon. The successful establishment 
of this new kingdom was, in no small degree, due to the 
break up of the Seljukian power, owing to the antagonism 
of Turk and Arab. But between 1134 and 1140 a new 
Turkish power arose in Syria under Imad-ed-din Zangi, 
who in 1 141 overran the country of Edessa and threatened 
the other Latin states. The famous monk St. Bernard 
preached a fresh crusade. This time the Emperor 
Conrad iii. and King Louis vii. of France took the cross 
and started with large well-equipped armies. But 
jealousies supervened. Conrad refused to wait for Louis, 
and was defeated in Asia Minor. Louis with the remnants 
of his force reached Acre ; a combined movement against 
Damascus failed, and the king returned home, having 
only succeeded in proving to the Moslem the want of 



90 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

unity among the Christians. Thereafter, year by year, in 
spite of the estabHshment of the great martial monastic 
orders of the Knights Templars and the Knights of St. 
John, the kingdom of Jerusalem grew weaker ; while 
the Moslems, under Noureddin and his nephew, the 
famous Saladin, the conqueror of Egypt, grew stronger. 
To add to the distress of the situation the royal house 
of Bouillon began to fail, and after a succession of minors 
it at last died out in 1186, leaving the throne of Jerusalem 
in dispute at the very moment Saladin was marshalling 
his followers for the final assault on the kingdom. 

Though, during the first half of the twelfth century 
the power of the Papacy was all-predominant, two influ- 
ences were at work which were destined to change the 
whole complexion of European politics. One was the 
revival of learning and the other the growth of national 
kingdoms. The regeneration of the monasteries, leading 
as it did to a higher conception of spiritual life, quickened 
at the same time the desire for knowledge ; while the 
claims of the Papacy led to the establishment of schools 
of canon law, at Pavia, Ravenna, and at Rome. Mean- 
while, early in the twelfth century Irnerius had established 
a school of law at Bologna, where, at the request of the 
Countess Matilda, he lectured on Justinian's Institutes. 
Soon, by the irony of fate, this school became strongly 
imperialist, the opponents of the pope regarding it as the 
means of furnishing them with authority for maintaining 
the divine right and universal claims of the Roman 
emperor. Able canonists like Ivo of Chartres replied, 
and ultimately in 1142 the papal position was defined by 
the Decretals of Gratian. But it was not only the emperor 
and pope who sought to intensify their claims by the 
revival of legal studies. The struggling kings of England, 
France and Spain found, in these rediscovered codes, 
useful weapons to turn against the proud feudatories who 



PHILIP AUGUSTUS 91 

flouted their authority. Gradually these monarchs dis- 
placed from round their persons the territorial magnates, 
and called in clerks trained in the Italian schools of law. 

By the middle of the twelfth century a significant change 
came over western Europe. In Germany the Emperor 
Frederic I., known as Barbarossa, had gained the Imperial 
crown. His reign was * the most brilliant in the annals of 
the empire.' He re-established order in Germany, broke 
down the attempted revival of Italian nationality, and 
successfully defied the Papacy. England, after the long 
years of anarchy under Stephen, emerged into the rule 
of law under Henry 11., and became the head of a strong 
continental empire, which absorbed nearly the whole of 
modern France. Meanwhile, Louis vii. of France in his 
small royal domains was laying the foundation-stone on 
which his son was to establish a kingdom, which was to 
confine the power of England to the British Isles, and 
become for centuries the pivot of European politics. 

By the latter half of the twelfth century the Capetian 
monarchs of France had gained but little in power, if 
indeed they were not weaker than Hugh Capet, the founder 
of their line. Their lands consisted of the duchy of France, 
a more or less compact territory between the Seine and the 
Loire, and small scattered outliers in Poitou and in the south. 
They had also certain peculiar rights, notably ecclesiastical. 
They were lords of Orleans, abbots of St. Martin's at Tours, 
and minor canons of the Church of St. Quentin. Within 
these territories they were steadily making their power felt, 
reducing insolent barons, aiding the oppressed peasantry, 
conciliating the inhabitants of the towns, and everywhere 
defending the rights of the Church. For it was to a 
considerable degree by the aid of the Church that Hugh 
Capet had gained his crown, and by her aid that his de- 
scendants had maintained it. To the north-east of the 
duchy of France lay the great fief of Flanders, looking 



92 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

partly to the emperor, partly to the French king, as its 
feudal superior. Due north lay the Norman duchy with 
its attendant county of Maine, then forming part of the 
possessions of the crown of England. Further west was 
Brittany, over which Normandy had some vague rights, 
translated into fact by the marriage of the Breton heiress 
with Geoffrey, son of Henry of England. West lay Anjou, 
the ancestral possession of King Henry's family. West- 
south-west was the duchy of Aquitaine and the county of 
Poitou, so stupidly lost to France by the divorce of Queen 
Eleanor by Louis vii. ; so cleverly won to England by 
King Henry at the cost of an ill-tempered elderly bride. 
Further south were the counties of Toulouse and Auvergne, 
the family possessions of the Counts of Toulouse, who had 
never even paid feudal homage to the Capetian kings ; 
while, on the east of the Rhone, was Provence, a part of the 
Arelate, dependent on the emperor. East lay the great 
fief of Burgundy. Nearer to Paris, east and west were the 
fiefs of the Counts of Champagne, who were also lords of 
Blois. 

Such was the distribution of France when, in 1178, King 
Louis VII. was seized by an attack of paralysis. By his 
first two wives he had only daughters ; but his third wife, 
Alice of Blois, of the house of Champagne, had in 1165 
presented him with a son, Philip, called at the time of his 
birth Dieudonne, and known to history as Philip Augustus. 
The fate of the French monarchy hung on the life of this 
child, a bright eager youth, quick at all manly sports, and 
a great hunter. In 1179 King Louis, recognising that he 
had not much longer to live, at once determined to have his 
son crowned in his lifetime, as his predecessors had done 
before him. The prospect which lay before the lad was 
such as to cause deep anxiety to a father's heart. In spite 
of the care with which he had espoused the cause of the 
Church and the peasantry, of the stern way in which he 



PHILIP AUGUSTUS 93 

had suppressed the feudal barons of the royal domains, 
and won to his side the corporations of the growing towns 
by timely charters to their commerce, the power of the 
French crown was weak compared with that of its mighty 
feudatories. It was clear that if the state was to survive, 
it must do so by the aid of its three great rivals. For the 
time being the house of Champagne was bound to the 
destiny of France through the queen. There remained the 
other two, Phihp of Alsace, Count of Flanders and Verman- 
dois, and Henry of England. Of these Henry of England 
was by far the more important. Under the pretext of a 
vision King Louis, ill as he was, crossed the Channel to pay 
his vows at the shrine of St. Thomas of Canterbury ; there 
he met Henry, and the result of the understanding then 
arrived at was seen in the cordial relations which existed 
between Henry and Philip during the next few years. 
Hardly had Louis returned to Paris than he was seized by 
an attack of his malady, which prevented him from being 
present at his son's coronation on All Saints' Day at Rheims, 
where William of Champagne, Archbishop of Rheims, 
placed the crown on his nephew's head. For nearly a year 
King Louis lingered on, a hopeless invalid, so that from the 
day of his coronation Philip, hardly yet fifteen, had to 
bear the sole burden of the crown. 

Contrary to their expectations the lords of Champagne 
found themselves excluded from the young king's councils. 
Phihp at first listened to the advice of Philip of Alsace, 
Count of Flanders ; and on April 28th, 1180, five months 
before his father's death, married Isabel, eldest daughter 
of the Count of Hainault and niece of the Count of Flanders, 
who, being childless, promised that Isabel should be his 
heir. She was to bring to the French crown, at the count's 
death, Artois — * the city of Arras and St. Omer and Aire and 
Hesdin ; that is, the land beyond the great dyke.' But the 
predominance of Count Phihp did not last long. It was no 



94 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

part of the scheme of Henry of England to allow either 
Flanders or Champagne to control the crown of France ; 
King Henry himself desired to have the final word. In 
June 1180, he met the young French monarch under the 
famous tree of Conference which stood near Gisors on the 
bank of the Epte. The result of this meeting was that a 
commission was appointed to settle all disputes between 
the two crowns ; and that Philip, falHng under the glamour 
of Henry's strong personality, restored to favour his mother 
and her house. 

For the next few years in all his difficulties Philip ap- 
pealed for advice to Henry, and it was his sage counsel 
which saved the young king from two ill-timed wars with 
Flanders. It is a great tribute to the personal influence of 
King Henry that he could thus control the young Philip ; 
for Philip from his youth was ever desirous to regain for 
himself the position which once had belonged to the 
Carolingian monarchs, and Henry's power stood most in 
his way. The following anecdote clearly discloses his 
ambition. On one occasion when his army was invading 
Flanders, negotiations were being carried on between the 
French and Flemish plenipotentiaries. Philip stood apart, 
' holding a green hazel wand in his hand or gnawing it 
with his teeth.' One of the barons went up to him and 
inquired what he was thinking about. ' I was wondering,' 
he replied, ' whether at some future time God will ever think 
fit to bestow on me or some other king of France this 
favour — the restoration of the realm of France to its 
former position, to the extent and renown which it once 
enjoyed in the days of Charles.' This was his life-long 
object, and he pursued it remorselessly. Keen soldier as 
he was, he knew that fighting is easier than waiting, and 
often less profitable. But every forward movement, every 
hesitation, every delay was part of his steadfast plan 
towards the ideal expressed in his early days. 



PHILIP AUGUSTUS 95 

In 1 183, Isabelle of Vermandois, aunt of Philip's queen, 
died, and King Philip at once claimed Vermandois. But, 
contrary to his promises, Philip of Flanders refused to give 
up this fief and married again. Thereon, in 1184, Philip 
invaded Flanders. After a stubborn campaign, thanks to 
the intervention of Henry, he gained by the Treaty of 
Aumale, in 1185, immediate possession of Vermandois 
with the district of Amiens ; while Peronne, St. Quentin, 
and the whole of Arras were to pass to him at Count Philip's 
death. Immediately after the peace of Aumale, following 
his father's policy, Philip intervened in Burgundy, where 
the churches were crying out at the tyrrany of Duke Hugh. 
The royal arms prevailed against the Burgundians ; the 
Castle of Chatillon-sur-Seine was stormed, the Duke 
captured and compelled to redress the wrongs done to the 
Church. 

That the ambitious young king would allow no personal 
admiration, no sense of gratitude, to stand in the way of 
his aims, was soon shown. He began to plot with his friend 
Henry's rebellious sons. It was only the premature death 
of Geoffrey of Brittany which prevented war breaking out 
between Philip and Henry in 1186, although Henry had 
done Philip no wrong; he had faithfully stood by his 
promises, and in 1183 had in person done homage for his 
possessions in France. The immediate obj ect of the French 
king was the recovery of the Vexin, with its stronghold of 
Gisors which formed the dowry of his sister Alice promised 
to one of King Henry's sons, ' whom he will.' In 1187 
war again nearly broke out when Philip encouraged Richard 
to rebel against his father ; but it was averted, thanks to 
Henry's ability and the ill news from Palestine. 

The knell of the Latin kingdom of Jerusalem had sounded 
when on October 3rd, 1187, Saladin had entered Jerusalem 
as conqueror. The West was horrified. The pope at once 
made pitiful appeals to all the monarchs of Christendom 



96 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

to lay aside their private contentions, and to take the cross 
to aid in the recovery of the Holy Sepulchre. Philip was 
too politic to put himself in the wrong. Like Henry of 
England he took the cross, and proceeded by means of the 
* Saladin tithe ' to make preparations for his departure to 
the East. But Henry's disobedient sons could not be 
contained, and Philip could not resist the temptation of 
profiting by their disloyalty. Henry appealed against 
his action, but Philip replied that he would not desist 
until he had regained Berry and the Vexin. The fire- 
brand Richard sided one moment with his father, at 
another with Philip. In May 1189 an abortive conference 
was held near La Fierte. The papal legate attempted to 
intimidate Philip by threatening to lay his lands under an 
interdict unless he made peace. But the French king 
won sympathy from his English enemies by replying that 
it did not belong to the Roman Church to lay curses on 
the King of France, if the King of France upheld his crown 
against his rebellious vassals, and added * that the legate 
had scented Henry's money.' The end came speedily. 
Philip surprised Henry at Le Mans ; drove him in rout, 
and forced him on July 4th at Colombieres on the Cher 
to promise to surrender Alice, to recognise Richard as his 
heir, to pay a sum of twenty thousand marks, and to start 
on the crusade in the following Lent. 

Two days after this great submission the ' old Lion ' 
lay dead. Philip had triumphed beyond belief ; he had 
humbled the greatest war lord of the West, and established 
the claim of his crown beyond the wildest dreams of his 
predecessors. But his victory was specious rather than 
solid ; he could not in decency remain to gather the 
fruits. He had shown what was possible, and it remained 
for a later occasion to turn appearances into realities. 

Philip having made all due preparations for the crusade 
went to St. Denis, and ' most devoutly ' received the 



PHILIP AUGUSTUS 97 

pilgrim's scrip and staff from the hand of his uncle, 
William of Champagne, Archbishop of Rheims. Then 
he proceeded to make the necessary dispositions for the 
government of his kingdom in his absence. The fact that 
Richard of England was going with him, and had signed 
a treaty of alliance, ensured the preservation of peace 
from without. For the maintenance of order within 
he drew up a personal testament, in the favour of ' his 
household and his friends.' This document was of great 
constitutional importance, for it laid down claims to royal 
supremacy and control which would not have been accepted 
under other circumstances. On July ist, 1190, Richard 
and Philip met at Vezelai with their respective hosts. 
Nominally they were bent on regaining the Holy Sepulchre ; 
but that their aims were not purely for the honour of 
Christendom can be seen from the fact that, before starting, 
they agreed to divide equally all that they should gain in 
the war. By September i6th, thanks to the hired Genoese 
seamen and ships, the two monarchs had reached Messina 
in Sicily. There difficulties at once arose. Tancred, the 
Norman usurper, who held the island against the claims 
of the Emperor Henry vi., received them with dehght ; 
he attempted to gain their recognition by offering his 
daughter in marriage to Philip. But the King of France 
was too crafty a politician to be led into difficulties with the 
emperor, and too self-contained to join Richard in punish- 
ing the Greeks who robbed the crusaders right and left. 
Richard's impetuous action nearly caused a rupture 
between them, the ' Lion and the Lamb,' as the Greeks 
called them, and it was necessary once again to swear ' on 
the relics of the saints to keep good faith to one another, 
both as regards their persons and the two armies during 
the pilgrimage.' 

It was not till March 30th, 1191, that Philip sailed for 
the East ; three weeks later he reached Acre, which city 

G 



98 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

had been besieged for a year and a half by the crusaders 
under Guy of Lusignan. Richard did not arrive there 
till June, having stopped on his way to capture Cyprus 
from the infidels. Meanwhile, Philip showed his usual 
determination and good military judgment. The crusaders 
needed an example, so he pitched his tent so close to the 
walls that ' the enemies of Christ often shot their quarrels 
and arrows right up to it, and even beyond.' But un- 
fortunately his delicate constitution could not stand the 
climate, and the malignant fever soon confined him to his 
bed. 

On July I2th Acre surrendered, and the hollow truce 
between Philip and Richard soon afterwards came to an 
end. The relations between the two kings had been further 
strained by the marriage of Richard with Berengaria of 
Navarre. This meant the final rejection of Philip's sister 
Alice. Now arose the question as to who should be King 
of Jerusalem. Richard supported Guy of Lusignan, the 
widower of Queen Sibylla ; Philip sided with Isabelle, 
Sibylla's sister, who was married to Conrad of Montferrat. 
A compromise was for the moment effected ; Guy was to 
be king for life and to be succeeded by Conrad. Meanwhile 
Philip, who was in very bad health — he had lost his hair 
and finger nails — heard that his son Louis was dangerously 
ill. Never a crusader at heart, he was glad of any excuse 
to get home to carry on the work, always so dear to him, of 
extending his kingdom. The death of Count Philip of 
Flanders gave him a further excuse for returning to claim 
his dead wife's heritage of Peronne. In spite of the protest 
of the other crusaders, he sailed away from Acre on July 
31st, having just done sufficient to discharge his vow, and 
add to his prestige the glamour which surrounded a 
crusader. 

Philip returned to France with the express purpose of 
availing himself of the opportunity of overthrowing the 



PHILIP AUGUSTUS 99 

Angevin power, which had been snatched from him on the 
occasion of the death of Henry 11. by the necessity of the 
crusade. Now he was in a much stronger position, for 
his formidable rival, Richard of England, was safely 
engaged in upholding the cross against the Saracens, and 
in his place stood John, whose one desire was to ruin his 
brother Richard. The grounds for an attack were to hand. 
Richard had not carried out the terms of the treaty of 
1 189 ; he had never paid the twenty thousand marks his 
father had promised ; he had also thrown over Alice and 
married Berengaria of Navarre. Philip accordingly had 
strong grounds for demanding the return of the Vexin, 
Alice's marriage portion. His first move was to demand 
from the seneschal and barons of Normandy the return of 
Alice, and the surrender of the Castle Gisors and the 
Vexin. This the barons stoutly resisted. Philip then 
offered Alice to John. He would at once have accepted 
her and conspired against his brother, if his mother. Queen 
Eleanor, and the English baronage had not overawed him 
for the time. Two years later he succumbed to the 
temptation when he heard that Richard was a prisoner in 
the hands of the Austrian duke. 

Treachery spread, and Phihp was able to capture the 
whole of the Vexin and to lay siege to Rouen, which, under 
the earl of Lancaster, stoutly resisted his assaults. Mean- 
while, many of the towns of Normandy threw open their 
gates to him. But in the spring of 1194 the situation 
underwent a complete alteration, for on March 13th, 1194, 
Richard landed in England. Philip had been using every 
effort to induce the emperor to retain him in prison, but 
Richard had bought his freedom at the price of an immense 
ransom, and by doing homage to the emperor for his 
kingdom. For the next three years warfare was almost 
continuous, Philip attacking and Richard defending in 
Normandy and in Aquitaine. Philip attempted to 



100 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

strengthen his position by giving the unfortunate AHce 
in marriage to WiUiam, Count of Ponthieu. But by 1198 
Richard had built up a strong coahtion of Flanders, 
Champagne and Brittany, and Philip was glad to sign a 
five years' truce. Richard meanwhile was building the 
wonderful Chateau Gaillard (the Saucy Castle) to protect 
the northern frontier of Normandy. Philip could but 
watch its growth and swear that were its walls of iron, still 
he would some day conquer Normandy, aye, and mayhap 
Aquitaine. 

By the beginning of 1199 it seemed as if all his dreams 
were shattered, when in April came the news that Richard 
had died in an obscure skirmish at Chaluz. As the French 
chronicler wrote, * God visited the land of France, for King 
Richard was no more.' Philip's opportunity had again 
arrived. John seized the crown of England and the 
duchy of Normandy ; but the baronage of Brittany, Anjou 
and Touraine chose as their new lord, Arthur, John's 
nephew, the son of his elder brother Geoffrey. Constance 
of Brittany, his mother, placed the boy in Philip's hands. 
He lost no time in claiming the surrender of the Vexin, and 
of all the hereditary lands of the lord of Anjou, for his 
young protege. But once again he was thwarted in the 
hour of his triumph. On December 6th, 1199, he was 
excommunicated for his adulterous union with Agnes of 
Meran, and his lands were laid under an interdict. There 
was nothing for it but to compromise. He met John at 
Chateau Gaillard. There, at the suggestion of the old 
Queen Eleanor, a peace was arranged on the terms that 
Louis, Philip's son, should marry Blanche of Castile, 
daughter of Alfonso viii. and of Eleanor, King John's sister, 
and that Blanche should have as her marriage portion 
Evreux and the lands Philip had won in Normandy. 

The truce lasted but two short years. Meanwhihi, 
Philip made his peace with the pope and took back his 



PHILIP AUGUSTUS loi 

wife Ingeborg, and on the death of Agnes of Meran the 
pope legitimised her children. John, on his part, made a 
deadly enemy of the Count de la Marche by seizing 
Isabelle of Angouleme and marrying her ; he also by his 
exactions drove the baronage of Poitou to revolt. 

By March 1202 Philip was ready to resume hostihties. 
He commenced by ordering John to give up to Arthur all 
his fiefs. When John refused he summoned him to Paris 
to answer, before his peers, the grievances of the barons of 
Poitou. John failed to attend the trial, and was sentenced 
in default to lose all the lands which he held of the King 
of France. This trial is most important, for on it Philip 
based all his subsequent claims to the lands he conquered. 
It showed how the power of the French crown had in- 
creased, when it was able to enforce its rights on so great a 
feudatory as the descendant of the Counts of Anjou and 
the Duke of Aquitaine. Seldom, if ever, had the dis- 
obedience of a great vassal been thus stigmatised : never 
before had the King of France attempted to put such a 
sentence into force. 

Philip began his campaign in Normandy with his usual 
skill. But in Brittany John's forces were on the whole 
successful, and in August the young Arthur was captured 
at Mirabeau, on the frontier of Anjou. John sent his 
prisoner to Falaise. From that moment he disappeared 
from history ; rumour asserted that he was foully done to 
death by his uncle. Whether this was so or not the death 
of Arthur brought John little advantage ; everybody 
accused him as a murderer, and Philip posed as the avenger 
of blood. A successful campaign in Aquitaine brought 
many of the southern baronage to Philip's side ; in Nor- 
mandy castle after castle surrendered, while John lay 
inactive at Rouen. Nothing could move him. ' Philip 
harries your lands, your strongholds he captures, and their 
seneschals he ties to the tails of his horses and drags them 



102 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

to prison, your property he uses as his own.' ' Let be,' 
was John's sole answer, * some day I will win all back.' 
But it was too late. In September 1203 Philip laid siege 
to Chateau Gaillard. For seven months the fortress stood 
out : John attempted to relieve it and failed, and at last 
it was taken by escalade. From that moment all real 
resistance in Normandy was over. PhiHp offered most 
liberal terms to all who would come over to his side. By 
St. John the Baptist's day, 1204, Rouen had opened her 
gates, and soon all Normandy submitted to him. Anjou 
and Touraine had also surrendered, Aquitaine alone 
remaining faithful to John. On April ist, 1204, Queen 
Eleanor, * that admirable lady of beauty and astuteness,' 
passed away. Philip at once invaded Poitou, and within 
a year that country also had all but surrendered. In 1206 
John was glad to make a truce at Rouen, on the terms 
that he should hold what he still retained of Aquitaine. 

Philip's success was no doubt due, not only to his 
military ability and his astuteness, but also to the extra- 
ordinary lack of character of his opponent. The mayors 
and governors of the cities which he attacked were all made 
aware that it would be to their advantage to surrender. 
Either they themselves or their relations received large 
grants of land. Philip also was ready, in nearly every case, 
to confirm all municipal charters and even to grant new 
privileges. His treatment of Falaise is a good example of 
his policy : at its capture he gave considerable tracts of 
lands to the mayor, Andre Prepense : he granted pardon to 
the burghers, and a week's fair to the lepers of the town on 
the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. 

During the years of truce Philip was busy settling his 
captured provinces : he confiscated the estates of all who 
would not recognise him as lord ; he brought in settlers who 
were faithful to himself ; he put his own men in the seats 
of government ; he propitiated the communes ; he 



PHILIP AUGUSTUS 103 

showered gifts on the Church ; he held the baronage 
responsible for the fidelity of the individual barons ; he 
made arrangements for the security and defence of the chief 
towns of Normandy, Anjou, and the Loire ; he made con- 
stant visits throughout all the new provinces ; he rewarded 
his own personal followers, and he made it his business to 
interfere as much as possible in the government of outlying 
states like Ponthieu and Boulogne. 

He was in no hurry to recommence hostilities. It was 
easy to see that time was on his side. Year by year John 
got into greater difficulties with the pope and the baronage 
of England. In 1212 Pope Innocent appealed to the 
King of France to drive John from his throne, but just when 
his expedition was ready came the news that John had 
made a complete surrender to the pope. Philip determined 
to turn his expedition against Flanders. But in 1213 he 
was checked by the annihilation of his fleet by the Earl of 
Salisbury. John, who at the same time was making a 
great attempt to recover his lost possessions, had crossed 
over to Poitou and had met with some success. His hopes 
lay in the coalition he was building up. Philip had 
espoused the claim of Frederic of Hohenstaufen to the 
Imperial crown ; John supported his nephew Otto, son of 
Henry the Lion. For the moment Otto was victorious in 
Germany, and eager to avenge himself on Philip. In 
Flanders Ferrand of Portugal, who had married the 
heiress of Baldwin, continued to oppose the claims of Philip 
to his dead wife's heritage. The lords of Flanders and the 
French king each laid claim to Tournai. This city, whose 
bishop was a suffragan of the Archbishop of Rheims, had 
long ago put itself under the protection of Philip. Accord- 
ingly, in 1214, it was one of the first objects of the allies to 
seize Tournai. Philip was the first in the field ; and when, 
in July 1214, the Imperial army entered Flanders, it found 
the French king reinforced by the burghers of Tournai 



104 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

occupying the position of Bouvines, where the road to 
Tournai crossed the marsh by the httle stream of the 
Marcq. 

The battle was stoutly contested. Thanks to the mis- 
conduct of the mercenary cavalry of the allied right wing, 
and the lack of courage displayed by Otto, the French 
chivalry and the Flemish burghers won the day, though 
on neither side was there much generalship ; indeed, Philip 
seems to have contented himself with playing the part of 
an ordinary knight. Still the result was decisive. Otto 
only escaped capture by flight ; and Reginald of Boulogne, 
Ferrand of Portugal, Count of Flanders, and Wilham 
Longsword, Earl of Salisbury, his three divisional leaders, 
fell into the hands of the French. The victory brought 
far-reaching results, being indeed one of the most important 
in the history of the Middle Ages. Otto retired into 
obscurity ; John gave up the attempt to regain his con- 
tinental dominions ; England became purely an island 
power ; France emerged as a distinct national unit, and 
Philip stood forth as the all-important factor in France. 
The Church, the baronage, the communes, had all rallied 
to his side. He was no longer king only in the duchy of 
France. Now throughout Normandy, Maine, Brittany, 
Anjou, and nearly all Aquitaine his writs ran ; Burgundy 
recognised that his suzerainty was no longer nominal but 
real, and soon his influence was to spread to Toulouse and 
Provence. 

During a considerable part of the time that Philip was 
engaged in his struggle with the Angevins, he had on his 
hands a conflict with the Papacy. His first wife, Isabel, 
died in March 1190, leaving him one son, the future 
Touis VIII. She had brought him valuable territorial 
claims on his northern frontier. On his return from the 
crusade he looked about for another consort who might 
also aid him in his political aspirations. Ultimately his 



PHILIP AUGUSTUS 105 

choice settled on Ingeborg, sister of Cnut vi., King of 
Denmark, a lady ' beautiful in face, more beautiful in 
soul.' In 1 193 the French ambassadors arrived at the 
Danish Court. ' What/ asked Cnut, ' will your master 
ask as dower ? ' * The right of Denmark to England, 
and for a year the fleet and army of the Danes.' The 
Danish monarch freely promised them. But when the 
time of fulfilment came he was obliged to retract. With 
the Wends on his frontier, he could not afford to part with 
his army or offend Richard of England by lending his 
fleet to King Philip. Ultimately ten thousand marks 
were fixed instead, and Philip promised to protect the 
Danish king from his enemy the emperor. 

On August 14th the marriage was celebrated at Amiens, 
and next day the queen was crowned : on that very day 
Philip cast her off. What his reason was no one knows : 
he seems to have felt some physical loathing for her, 
and determined to send her home at once ; but she 
refused to go. Accordingly he set to work to obtain a 
divorce, on the shadowy grounds of far-off consanguinity. 
The complacent French bishops readily acceded to the 
wish of their lord. But the pope, on the appeal of Cnut, 
declared ' the sanction of divorce to be null and void, 
illegally pronounced against a woman ignorant of the 
language of the country, and without defence.' 

Philip refused to listen to this message sent him by 
a papal legate, and continued to treat Ingeborg with 
the greatest harshness. Meanwhile, he was negotiating 
for another bride, and in June 1196 he married Agnes of 
Meran. But in the following January the unfortunate 
Ingeborg found a fresh and capable protector in the new 
pope, Innocent iii. Within a few days of his accession 
Innocent wrote to the Bishop of Paris, * Whom God hath 
joined let no man put asunder.' ... * Wherefore shall 
ye warn him (Phihp) and enjoin for the pardon of his sins 



io6 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

that he straightway take to him again the said queen, 
lest he incur the divine wrath, and infamy among men, 
and thereby suffer irreparable loss.' After finding that 
letters and legates proved of no avail, in January 1199, 
the pope summoned a council to meet his legate at Dijon. 
There a sentence of interdict was pronounced on all the 
lands of the French king, as long as he continued his 
adulterous union with Agnes, and on February 5th, 1200, 
the interdict was put into force. PhiHp in his rage attacked 
his bishops, and robbed many of them of their lands. At 
the same moment he appealed to Rome, pleading for Agnes 
and her young children. At last he consented to visit 
Ingeborg and put away Agnes ; but he still determined 
to seek a divorce. Another council was summoned in 
the following March at Soissons, and for a fortnight Philip 
fought with every argument for divorce. Then suddenly, 
as Rigord relates, * Wearied by the long delay, leaving 
the archbishop and bishops without salutation, early in 
the morning he departed with Ingeborg his wife ; inform.- 
ing the court through his messengers that he took away 
his wife with him, and would not be separated from her.' 
Philip had seen that he could not at the moment gain his 
desire. His submission brought its reward when a few 
months later Agnes died, and the pope legitimised her 
children. 

Meanwhile the unfortunate Ingeborg led a solitary 
existence under guard, without the decencies of life. In 
1205 Philip again tried for a divorce, this time on the 
grounds that he was bewitched. For eight years the 
struggle continued, the pope nobly upholding the cause 
of the unfortunate queen. In 1213 Philip was faced by 
the great coalition. The Danish fleet once again became 
a factor in the situation, and at the advice of his friend 
Guerrin he took back his queen from whom he had been 
separated sixteen years. Men regarded the victory of 



PHILIP AUGUSTUS 107 

Bouvines as the divine recognition of the injured queen, 
and from that moment Ingeborg assumed her full rights 
as Queen of France. 

In the south events were happening, which, without 
the intervention of the king, added greatly to the prestige 
of the French crown* The end of the twelfth and the 
beginning of the thirteenth century was a period of great 
intellectual activity, which resulted in a revolt against 
the doctrinal system of the Church. Many men capable 
of clear thinking desired to return to the * primitive ' or 
' prime ' Christian faith. But their enthusiastic and 
uncultivated followers distorted their teaching, and 
Sectarianism became rampant ; fed in many cases by 
disgust at the unprincipled lives of those who professed 
to be rulers of the Church. In no part of Europe did these 
heresies fall on a more fruitful ground than in southern 
Gaul. At the bottom of most of them lay Manicheism, 
that is, the belief of the eternity of evil and good in per- 
petual antagonism. The sect known as the Albigenses 
declared that men fell into two classes, only one of which 
was predestined to salvation ; they also repudiated all 
Church orders, marriage, and the holding of property ; 
their system was * not only a religious but a social heresy, 
and this explains in part the severity with which it was 
suppressed.' 

Provence — the region from the Haute Garonne to the 
Alps — boldly accepted this new religion ; and Raymond vi., 
Count of Toulouse, threw himself into the movement. 
At first little attention was paid to it. The south had 
always been notorious for attacks on ecclesiastical pro- 
perty by freebooting barons. In 1198 Innocent under- 
took the task of attempting to regain this district for the 
Church. He despatched thither some of the most notable 
preachers of the day, among them St. Dominic, the founder 
of the Black Friars, the great preaching brotherhood. 



io8 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

' This holy man,' says the Troubadour, ' went with others 
over the land of the heretics, preaching to them that they 
should be converted, but the more he besought them, the 
more they scoffed at him and held him for a fool.' Matters 
reached a head in January 1207, when, after Raymond 
of Toulouse had been excommunicated by the papal 
legate, Peter of Castelnau, a knight, pursued the legate 
and stabbed him to the heart at St. Gilles near Aries. 

Innocent at once organised a crusade against the 
heretics, and called on the King of France and his lords to 
come to the aid of the Church. Philip w^as too busy watch- 
ing Otto and John ; but a great army under Simon de 
Montfort was engaged in the south for the next few years. 
At last, in September 1213, the forces of Raymond and 
his ally, the King of Aragon, were crushed. The battle 
of Muret decided that Langued'oc should fall under the 
control of Langued'oil. In 1215, Simon de Montfort was 
chosen Lord of Toulouse. For the next ten years there 
was dynastic w^arfare between the house of Raymond and 
that of Montfort ; but the issue was never in doubt, and 
year by year northern influences permeated the land. 
Though Philip himself never took active part in the 
conquest, he was willing to allow his knights to assist the 
crusaders, when they were not required by himself. But 
he ahvays told them that their duty was first to him, if 
at any moment war should break out with England. He 
knew that personal intervention would complicate 
problems at home, that the Church was bound in the 
long run to win, and that the victory of the Church meant 
the victory of the north. 

Philip's policy towards England, after the victory of 
Bou vines, was very similar to his attitude towards the 
Albigensian crusade. He had w^on as much as he was 
able at the moment to digest ; he wanted time to con- 
solidate his new dominions, and he had no intention of 



PHILIP AUGUSTUS 109 

sacrificing his position for the sake of problematic gains. 
When, after John had repudiated the Great Charter, the 
Enghsh barons invited his son Louis to come and be their 
king, Phihp declared that he would neither support nor 
hinder his going. But when the pope sent a legate to 
command him not to allow his son to attack the King of 
England, the vassal of the Holy See, Philip broke out, 
* The kingdom of England never was the patrimony of 
St. Peter, nor is, nor will be. No king or prince can give 
away his realm which is a commonwealth, without the 
assent of his barons, who are bound to defend the realm,' 
adding, ' Alas ! how greatly will the state of all kings suffer 
through this. So, by some trick, may the pope, in time 
to come, rob my heir of France, which,' raising his hands 
to heaven he cried, ' May God, may God, may God avert.' 

Although he refused him all aid he allowed the young 
Louis to go, and later, in spite of threats of excommuni- 
cation, refused to recall him. In the south, in 1216, he 
invested Montfort with the county of Toulouse. Nearer 
home, in 1218, he saw the extinction of the house of 
Chartres, and the division of Chartres and Blois between 
the husbands of the last count's sisters. In the autumn 
of 1222, he began to fail, but still he worked as before. 
He survived for eight months, dying at last in his new 
palace of the Louvre on Friday, February 14th, 1223, in 
the fifty-ninth year of his age. 

As a man Phihp had few qualities which attract. His 
cold, hard, calculating ambition seems to have ground 
down his passions, save in the case of his relations with 
Ingeborg. His success as a ruler depended on his sane 
common sense and the tenacity with which he pursued his 
desires. He would allow no personal feeling of admira- 
tion, gratitude or respect, to interfere with the policy he 
had in his mind. Though in the hour of his triumph he 
showed extreme moderation, we must remember tliat 



no LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

this was probably from motives of expediency. We have 
seen how he turned against Henry ii., whom he so admired, 
and who had so befriended him in his early days. It was 
the same with Richard, whom in his younger days we are 
told, ' he so honoured that by day they ate at one table, 
off one dish, and at night slept in one bed. And the 
French king loved him as his own soul.* In his treat- 
ment of his barons and his own personal followers, he 
was always self-contained and polite ; in great contrast 
to the Angevins, seldom if ever did he lose his temper. 
Giraldus Cambrensis had him in his mind when he wrote 
of the kings of France, ' They do not behave as bears or 
lions in the presence of their subjects. Nay, though they 
are exalted on the earth, they display affability and 
kindness towards their inferiors.' 

We have seen how he successfully carried out his scheme 
for overthrowing the great Angevin house ; we have noted 
how he knew exactly to what length to go, and when to 
stop ; we remember how he held his own against the 
greatest and most powerful of the popes. We must now 
examine his methods of consolidating his possessions, and 
of providing good and strong government for his subjects. 
The alliance with the Church had been the rock on which 
former kings of France had built up their power. Philip 
continued this alliance, and faithfully discharged his duties 
as protector of the Church against the lesser and the 
greater barons. But, from being an ally of the Church, he 
became its real and direct overlord. He successfully 
established his right of the regalia, that is, the right to the 
revenues of all vacant sees. When the Vidame of Chalons 
attempted to resist him on this point — though Chalons lay 
in Burgundy — he held an inquest and completely overrode 
the Vidame. In all questions of episcopal election Philip's 
word was law. He used his power to reward his most 
valuable clerks with bishoprics. The Church courts were 



PHILIP AUGUSTUS iii 

made subject to his rule. In 1220 he issued an ordinance 
to deal with ecclesiastical jurisdictions : the ecclesiastical 
courts, while allowed to exercise control in matters of 
perjury and morals, were obliged to abstain from all 
interference wdth feudal affairs : a criminous clerk degraded 
by the ecclesiastical courts was to receive no punishment 
from the civil power ; but if the Church released him the 
king might seize him. Clerks holding land held it as lay- 
men, and so their possessions were subject to the feudal 
and civil law. No man was to be excommunicated for the 
fault of his servant, or his lands placed under an interdict 
without the consent of his overlord. Prelates were not to 
compel burghers to take the oath against usury, or against 
trading on Sunday, or with the Jews. The whole of the 
ordinance breathes a spirit of authority which shows how 
strong was the position of the French king. In England 
each one of these points was only won after years of bitter 
struggle with the Church and the Papacy. But the French 
king had no difficulty in enforcing military service from 
the prelates in respect of their fiefs. 

At every crisis in his reign Philip was faced with foes 
among his chief feudatories and his own household. But in 
every case he successfully tamed them. Early in the reign 
he taught the Duke of Burgundy that he could not with 
impunity ravage and oppress his churches. The house of 
Champagne was of necessity wrecked by the extinction of 
the male line. We have seen how he tore the great fiefs 
from the house of Anjou. Vermandois and Artois, we 
remarked, were gained through his first wife and kept 
largely under royal control. Brittany was given to Pierre 
Mauclerc, husband of Arthur's half-sister AHce ; but the 
fealty due to Philip was expressly reserved when the vassals 
took the oath to their new duke. In the conquered 
provinces, and even in those still under the Angevin control, 
agreements were made with nobles to support the king ; 



112 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

thus the smaller baronage was built up as a counterpoise 
to the greater. 

In his own now greatly extended domains Philip exer- 
cised a watchful superintendence. The provost, the old 
royal officer, the chatelain, the keeper of the king's castles, 
and the vicomtes had become hereditary officials, seeking 
their own advancement. The king created a new official 
called the bailli in the north, or the senechai in the south, 
who roughly was the equivalent of the English sheriff. 
The bailhs in their own district nominated the provost 
and inferior officers, collected revenues, administered 
justice, superintended the royal relations with the feuda- 
tories, and were the administrative heads of their districts. 
They were controlled and supervised by the king's council, 
and, three times a year, had to come to Paris to have their 
accounts audited. 

To the townsmen Philip was always a good friend. He 
granted them charters ; he encouraged their trade ; he 
protected them from baron and bishop, and he allowed them 
to strengthen their walls and fortifications. He even 
went so far, as in the case of the Laonnais, as to attempt 
the experiment of granting a charter to a rural community. 
Paris was his pet child. As the chronicler quaintly puts it, 
* It had formerly been called Lutea (Lutetia) from the 
stench of its mud ; but Philip, Semper Augustus, caused 
the whole city to be paved with hard stone.' Outside the 
city he constructed for himself a new palace, the Louvre. 
He built a great wall, taking in the streets of the south side 
of the Seine, the Louvre, the Cathedral of Notre Dame on 
the island, and the new town full of merchants and manu- 
facturers, which was springing up on the north bank of the 
river. He it was who, by granting to the masters and 
scholars their charter, became the founder of the famous 
University of Paris. Thanks to his care the city became 
noted for the finest examples of Gothic work, and attracted 



PHILIP AUGUSTUS 113 

to itself numerous new industries, which soon made it the 
largest city in Europe. Thus it was that Philip's capital 
became famous as the seat of the only centralised monarchy 
on the continent, the most famous school of learning north 
of the Alps, and the centre of the continental trade of 
northern Europe. 



H 



FREDERIC II 

The reign of Philip Augustus, as we have seen, exemplified 
the growth of the idea of national monarchy. But we must 
never forget that, at the same time, the predominant note 
running through European aspirations was still that of a 
Christendom united under one head. But now there stood 
forth two protagonists to claim the headship. We re- 
member how, thanks to Hildebrand's efforts, the Papacy 
became independent of the Imperial claims, and how by the 
Concordat of Worms the question of lay investiture was 
settled. Hildebrand's successors were not content with 
freeing themselves from Imperial control : they set before 
themselves the ideal of reversing the old situation and 
establishing, what we might call, the suzerainty of the 
Church over the empire. Through the whole of the 
twelfth century ran the bitter struggle between pope and 
emperor. 

The Papacy had distinctly the advantage, and for these 
reasons : nearly everywhere it had the better exponents of 
its cause, for the whole organisation of the Church was at 
its beck and call. It could put forth arguments which, 
though fallacious, were so specious that it required a 
trained logician to defeat them, while in many cases no one 
attempted to challenge its premises from want of historical 
knowledge. The forged Decretals of Isidore were freely 
drawn on, and the alleged translation of the empire of 
the West, by Const antine to Pope Sylvester, was scarcely 
ever questioned. To support the historical accuracy of 

114 



FREDERIC II 115. 

their premises the following precedents were quoted : 
that Pippin and Charlemagne were called by the pope to 
the Imperial throne ; that all emperors received the 
Imperial crown from the hands of the pope, and that no 
emperor ventured to own the title till the crown had been 
conferred by the pope. There followed the direct appeal 
to the feudal theory, that every fief or honour is held of a 
superior power : that, as the pope invests the emperor 
with the Imperial crown, he must be lord paramount of the 
emperor. Pope Hadrian iv. summed up the situation 
thus, * What were the Franks till Zacharias welcomed 
Pippin ? What is the Teutonic king now till consecrated 
at Rome by holy hands ? The chair of St. Peter has given 
and can withdraw gifts.' 

The emperors retaliated as best they could. During the 
twelfth century we find no less than four anti-popes set up 
by them to refute the papal pretensions. On the whole 
this procedure did very little good to the Imperial cause. 
As in the parallel case between Becket and Henry 11. in 
England, the emperors failed to make good their claim to 
command the priesthood, in spite of their assertion that 
' the Divine Providence has specially appointed the Roman 
Empire as a remedy against continual schism.' What 
really gave the Imperial cause its greatest support was the 
growing study of civil law. All over the West, from 
Bologna to Paris and Oxford, schools of law were springing 
up. The civilians transferred to the emperor all the 
powers that the most servile jurists had ever ascribed to the 
Caesars of the old Roman Empire. The emperor was 
* Lord of the World.' ' The emperor is a living law upon 
earth.' ' Do and ordain whatsoever thou wilt, thy will is 
law.' Such were a few of the maxims freely quoted by the 
great civilians of the age. We can scarcely wonder then 
at the indignant reply of Frederic Barbarossa to the 
deputies of Rome who made much of their condescension 



ii6 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

in bestowing on him the sceptre. * It is not for you to 
choose us, but Charles and Otto that rescued you from the 
Greek and Lombard. ... It is not for the people to give 
laws to the prince, but to obey commands.' One other 
weapon was added to the Imperial armoury in the twelfth 
century. As a counterset to the papal claims Frederic 
Barbarossa added to his title the word holy, thus opposing 
to the * Holy Catholic Church ' the * Holy Roman Empire.' 
In the time of Charlemagne we find Alcuin using the title 
' The Christian Empire,' but it is from the time of Barba- 
rossa onwards that the word ' holy ' became part of the 
Imperial title, and the empire was * consecrated an earthly 
theocracy.' 

In spite of the counter claims of the emperors and the 
ability of the Hohenstaufen line, and notably of Frederic 
Barbarossa, the power of the Papacy continually advanced. 
There were several causes for this. First came its great 
prestige, arising out of the crusades. The visible head of 
the Church on earth had taken up the cause of Christ against 
the infidel ; without the pope there would have been no 
crusade. The Papacy was wise enough to make the most 
of the fact that it was the Church, not the empire, which 
united Europe against the Moslem ; although the great 
Frederic Barbarossa actually led part of the host which 
hurried off on the news of the fall of Jerusalem and 
met his death in Asia Minor in 1190. The second factor 
in the rise of the Papacy was the gift to the pope of her 
estates by the Countess Matilda on her death in 11 15. 
Thus the Papacy became a great territorial power. The 
emperor attempted to deprive it of these possessions by 
claiming, not only Tuscany and Mantua and other cities, 
b'at all the allodial and patrimonial inheritance of the 
countess, on the ground that they had been settled at her 
marriage on her husband Duke Welf of Bavaria. It was 
from the connection between the Countess Matilda and the 



FREDERIC II 117 

house of Welf that the ItaHan party, opposed to the emperor, 
took the name of the Guelfs, while the Ghibelhne or Imperial 
party took its name from Waiblingen, the ancestral house 
of Frederic of Buren, the founder of the Hohenstaufen 
dynasty. Thirdly, the Papacy had allied itself with the 
group of cities in northern Italy which, known as the 
Lombard League, under the presidency of Milan, had with 
democratic pride opposed the claims of Barbarossa to the 
dominion of the valley of the Po ; and had succeeded at 
length, after nearly being crushed, in defeating him on the 
field of Legnano. Lastly, the popes had the support of the 
Norman kingdoms of Sicily and Naples, which were held as 
fiefs of the Papac}^ by the warlike descendants of the house 
of Hauteville. 

We must now examine the means at the disposal of the 
emperors. The emperors in their essence were powerful 
German monarchs. Since the extinction of the great 
national duchies of Franconia, Swabia and Saxony, they 
might have gradually evolved a national German kingdom. 
But the glamour of the Imperial crown ever led them to 
the elusive pursuit of a world-wide empire. Italy was the 
lure which ensnared them. Barbarossa, after the Treaty 
of Constance 1183, which brought an end to the war with 
the Lombard League, reached this goal, as he thought, by 
the marriage of his son Henry with Constance, the legitimate 
heir to the crown of Sicily. When the young Henry, his 
son, succeeded him, he followed up this advantage by rapid 
blows. By 1 194 Henry vi. had completely defeated the 
opposition in Germany led by the house of Henry the Lion. 
He had set up a counterpoise to the Lombard League by form- 
ing a league of Imperial towns. He had wrested southern 
Italy and Sicily from the bastard descendants of the Haute- 
villes • he had regained the heritage of the Countess Matilda 
and granted it to his brother Philip, who was married to 
Irene, daughter of the eastern emperor Isaac and widow of 



ii8 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

Tancred, the bastard pretender to the SiciHan crown. It 
seemed as if the pope would relapse into a mere ecclesiastical 
nominee of the empire, and the ambitious Henry secretly 
prepared designs to incorporate the eastern empire also 
within his dominion. When in 1194 the Empress Constance 
gave birth to a son, the future Frederic ii., success seemed 
certain. But in 1198 the victorious career of the young 
emperor was cut short by death. 

With the death of Henry vi. came the papal opportunity. 
Otto of Brunswick, son of Henry the Lion, was elected 
emperor by the papal party in opposition to Philip of 
Swabia, Henry's brother. For twelve years Germany was 
rent by civil war, thanks in no small part to the machination 
of the pope, Innocent in. : while southern Italy and Apulia 
were torn by internecine strife between the new German 
lords inducted by the late emperor and the native Normans, 
Italians and Saracens. 

Meanwhile, the Empress Constance, after acknowledging 
the pope as overlord of Sicily, died in the same year as 
her husband, leaving her little son as the ward of Innocent. 
The shades of the dead emperors must have groaned indeed, 
seeing the ambitions of the Hohenstaufen thus laid in the 
dust ; the pope arbiter of the destinies of the empire ; 
the scion of their haughty house seeking protection from 
Markwald of Anweiler and other German freebooters, whom 
they had themselves planted on the soil of southern Italy 
and Sicily. The boy was too young at his parents* death 
to feel the humiliation of the position. Though even food 
and clothing were often hard to obtain, he no doubt en- 
joyed his childhood in sunny Palermo amid the wonder- 
ful palaces and gardens of his Norman ancestors, who had 
so cunningly assimilated all the civilisation of their Saracen 
subjects. 

Meanwhile, there was a continuous struggle waged 
between pope, German adventux-ers, and native semi- 



FREDERIC II 119 

Norman nobles of Sicily, as to who should be master of 
the king's person. For a moment in 1200 Markwald 
and the Germans got possession of both the boy and his 
kingdom. On Markwald's death, William of Capua, a 
Norman noble, and Walter of Palear, the chancellor — 
whom the pope had deposed from the bishopric of Troja — 
successfully seized the regal power. The papal party under 
the Archbishop of Palermo could not make head against 
them, and in the end the pope was compelled to make 
terms. Thus Frederic's education was received from 
tutors appointed by men who openly defied the Church. 
The boy grew up, * taught from his earliest years by every 
party to mistrust the other : taught by the Sicilians to hate 
the Germans ; by the Germans to despise the Sicilians ; 
taught that in the pope himself, his guardian, there was no 
faith or loyalty ; that his guardian would have sacrificed 
him, had it been to his interest, to the house of Tancred.' 
Hence from his youth Frederic saw nothing but intrigue 
and deceit. Naturally of an insatiable curiosity he flung 
himself eagerly into all sorts of studies. A rationalist, yet 
with a strange mixture of mysticism, what delighted him 
most was dialectic. His mind, precocious beyond measure, 
developed at an astonishing pace, but his character lacked 
stabihty. 

The influence of his early surroundings must ever be 
borne in mind while studying the career of Frederic il. 
The letter of complaint written to the kings of Europe 
when the lad was but twelve years old was no doubt 
the actual work of his guardians, but it probably really 
portrayed his feelings. * To all kings of the world and to 
all princes of the universe, the innocent boy. King of Sicily, 
called Frederic, Greeting in God's name ! Assemble 
yourselves, ye nations ; draw nigh, ye kings ; hasten hither, 
ye princes, and see if any sorrow be like unto my sorrow ! 
My parents died ere I could know their caresses ; I did not 



120 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

deserve to see their faces ; and I, like a gentle lamb among 
wolves, fell into slavish dependence upon men of various 
tribes and tongues. I, the offspring of so august an union, 
was handed over to servants of all sorts, who proceeded to 
draw lots for my garments and for my royal person. 
Germans, Tuscans, Sicilians, barbarians, conspired to worry 
me. My daily bread, my drink, my freedom, are all 
measured out to me in scanty proportion. No king am I : 
I am ruled instead of ruling : I beg favours instead of 
granting them.' 

It must indeed have been humiliating to a boy of 
Frederic's spirit to find himself, the descendant of the 
mighty Hohenstaufen, reduced to the mere lordship of the 
island of Sicily, despised and insulted by the republics of 
Genoa and Pisa ; while Otto, the nominee of the pope, his 
guardian, was fighting his uncle Philip for the empire. 
Events moved rapidly: in 1208 Philip was assassinated, 
and in the next year Otto was betrothed to Philip's 
daughter and crowned by Innocent. Once crowned 
emperor, Otto took up the policy of the Hohenstaufen, and 
determined to win Sicily and Apulia. Thus Innocent 
found himself tricked by his own agent, and was glad to 
lend his countenance to Frederic, who in 121 1 was offered 
the German throne by the old adherents of his race. 

Frederic meanwhile, in 1209, had gained his first bride, 
thanks to the policy of the Papacy. The lady was Con- 
stance of Aragon, ten years his senior, the widow of Emme- 
rich, King of Hungary. "She brought in her train five 
hundred foreign knights whom Frederic used to establish 
his authority in Sicily. Early in 1212, when Frederic was 
seventeen years old, the queen gave birth to a son. 
Frederic, deeply attached though he was to his consort, 
did not linger long in the south after his son was born. 
He had determined to set out to win his father's dominions. 
To gain this he was ready to give what pledges the pope 



FREDERIC II 121 

might require as to his fealty for the kingdom of Sicily. 
Innocent, in his anger against Otto, was willing to use every 
means to encompass his downfall, and actually gave Fred- 
eric his blessing and personal assistance in his enterprise. 
After visiting Innocent in Rome, by aid of the Genoese, 
who hated the Pisans, Otto's allies, Frederic reached 
Genoa. From thence, escaping the force of the Milanese 
who tried to intercept him, he reached Verona with a small 
band of followers. The Brenner Pass was held for Otto, 
but Frederic's small cavalcade successfully crossed the 
Ruppen, and reached Constance three hours before the force 
Otto sent to capture him. At Constance Frederic found 
supporters : Otto was excommunicated by Bernard, 
Archbishop of Bari, the papal legate : Swabia rose for the 
heir of the Hohenstaufen. Otto retired northwards, and 
from that moment the power of the Welfs gradually 
declined. Bavaria threw in its lot with Frederic, and 
Henry of Kalden, the great administrator, brought over 
many of the officials of the German kingdom. 

Frederic, well-advised, entered into a close and effective 
league with France in reply to Otto's league with his uncle, 
John of England. Though Otto did not die till 1218, the 
struggle between them really came to an end in 12 14, when 
Otto and his allies were hopelessly defeated at Bou vines. 
In 1215 Frederic was crowned as German King at Aachen 
(Aix-la-Chapelle) in the palace of Charlemagne ; thus 
quickly had he regained his father's lost inheritance. It 
only remained for him to receive the Imperial crown from 
the hands of the pope at Rome. To gain this honour he 
was ready to bind himself by the most solemn vows that, 
on his coronation as emperor, all connection between 
Sicily and the empire should cease. He promised to 
resign the Sicilian crown to his little son Henry. 

Frederic spent eight years in Germany, years big with 
omen for the future. He shrewdly saw that the result 



122 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

of papal interference in the country had caused considerable 
irritation against Rome. This feeling was expressed in the 
poems of Walter von der Vogelweide, with his denunciation 
of the greed and pride of foreigners and the priestly domina- 
tion of the laity. But Frederic was not strong enough to do 
without Innocent ; he also had to bid for the aid of the great 
temporal princes. Accordingly during this period we find 
him granting great concessions and wide jurisdiction to the 
Church and the more powerful feudatories, at the expense 
of the towns and the smaller knights. It was a policy of 
pure opportunism, and in the long run recoiled on his head. 

The immediate outcome of this policy was a charter 
granted by Frederic, in 1220, practically giving the prelates 
and princes the position of independent sovereigns. The 
occasion of its issue was his departure for Italy to receive 
the Imperial crown. As early as his coronation at Aachen 
he had taken the cross. His object was twofold : he would 
propitiate the pope and thus gain the Imperial crown, 
and he would also stand forth in the true Imperial position 
as leading the united hosts of Europe against the infidel. 
But although he took the cross, Frederic had no intention 
of starting on the crusade before he had consolidated his 
position. Thanks to the death of Innocent in 12 16, and 
the accession of a mild and benevolent pope, Honorius ill., 
he had the requisite breathing space. 

Frederic's charter to the prelates and princes was 
preceded by the election of his son Henry, King of Sicily, 
as King of the Romans. This was a most shameless breach 
of his promise made in 12 16 that the empire and Sicily 
should be for ever separated. To the justly indignant 
remonstrances of the pope, he replied in the smoothest of 
terms that the election had taken place without his consent. 
He followed up this impertinent message by coming south 
to Italy to arrange for his own coronation, A consummate 
reader of character, he knew that a smooth tongue, a 



FREDERIC II 123 

deferential air, and a determined mind, would easily over- 
come the scruples of the kindly and weak old pope ; further, 
his life's training had taught him that all politics were 
trickery, and that the very centre of trickery was Rome. 
Once in Rome, his personality dominated the pope, who 
crowned him, after he had solemnly taken the cross, on the 
understanding that he was to retain Sicily for his lifetime, 
on condition that he kept the administration separate from 
that of the empire. Frederic in return promised through- 
out his dominions to amend all laws hostile to the prestige 
of the clergy, to exempt the Church from all taxes, and to 
supplement with all his power the efforts of the Church 
to exterminate heresies. 

But once crowned emperor, Frederic found it as incon- 
venient to set out for the crusade as before. From the 
papal point of view his immediate departure was all- 
important, as the whole of the effort to reheve Palestine, 
by crushing the Moslem ruler of Egypt, was hanging in the 
balance. But Frederic, though ready at once to send aid, 
had no intention of setting out himself until he had re- 
organised his dominions and consolidated his power in the 
south. Unfortunately, the leaders of the crusade, after 
effecting a landing in Egypt and seizing Damietta as a base, 
allowed themselves to be lured into a general engagement 
before the succour arrived which Frederic had despatched. 
The disaster at Damietta did Frederic great injury. The 
pope loudly complained that the emperor was responsible, 
although it was really the foolhardiness of Cardinal Pelagius 
which had caused the debacle, by persuading the leaders of 
the crusade to fight without awaiting the Imperial rein- 
forcements. 

While the pope was alternately cajoling and threaten- 
ing, Frederic was pursuing in his kingdom of Sicily a 
policy exactl}^ the opposite of that which he had followed 
in Germany. Instead of increasing the power of the 



124 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

great feudatories, his aim was so to diminish their import- 
ance that he might build up a strong autocracy in the 
place of a feudal state. Returning to the south, at the 
age of twenty-six, he found his SiciHan dominions very 
much in the condition in which Henry ii. found England 
at the death of Stephen. For more than twenty years 
the royal authority had lapsed. The country was covered 
with the feudal castles of the nobles : the great spiritual 
feudatories were as turbulent as their temporal brothers : 
the great cities of Messina, Syracuse and Catania were 
almost freed of the control of the crown ; while a third 
of Sicily, and that the most fertile, was held by the 
Saracens, who had asserted their independence. 

For four years, 1221-1225, Frederic waged a steady war 
against the Saracens. He saw clearly that until they 
were weakened and divided he would have no peace ; 
but he also knew that, once conquered, owing to their 
superior intelligence and industry, they would form an 
asset of considerable importance. With this object in 
view he transported great numbers of them to the main- 
land, and settled them in the country round the abandoned 
city of Lucera. These Moors rapidly turned into the 
most loyal of subjects, and, like the Jews in England, they 
were placed under the special protection of the king. 
The revenue derived from the steel workers and silk 
weavers of Lucera was a grateful subsidy to the royal 
purse ; while later, when involved in the long wars with 
the Lombard League, Frederic found in the Arabs a 
steady and loyal contingent of soldiery. 

The subjection of the Sicilian, Norman and German 
feudatories was a harder task. In this the emperor was 
aided by his personal friends among the prelates and barons, 
and by a trained band of lawyers headed by Peter de 
Vinea. Like Henry 11. his first step was to destroy the 
* adulterine ' castles, and to insist that all other castles 



FREDERIC II 125 

should be garrisoned by royal troops. Private war was 
forbidden, and a procedure set up to settle disputes about 
land very similar to that established by the ' assizes ' in 
England during Henry 11. 's reign. Trial by battle and 
the ordeal were gradually superseded by civil arbitration, 
and royal judges and justices withdrew all criminal juris- 
diction from the feudal courts. Thus the judicial duel 
almost entirely disappeared except in certain specified 
cases. The towns also felt the weight of the royal hand : 
they no longer had the right of appointing their own 
magistrates, but were ruled by royal officials who were 
assisted by a council of notables chosen by the townsmen. 
Frederic hoped thus to secure the royal supremacy, but 
at the same time to keep in close touch with popular 
feeling. On the whole the loyalty of the towns during 
the long years of war when taxation was heavy shows 
that his system was by no means unsuccessful. Indeed 
the strict system of supervision of the resident officials 
by commissioners from the royal court did much to pre- 
vent harshness and extortion. The Church also was 
made to feel that it was a department of the state, though 
Frederic could not accomplish this without breaking the 
many promises he had made to Innocent. But, as we have 
said before, everything had conspired to teach him that 
promises were made but to be broken ; and, as we shall 
see, for a great part of his life he was under the ban of 
excommunication. So, for the purposes of taxation, the 
ecclesiastics soon found that they differed in no whit 
from the laity, while the jurisdiction and privileges of the 
Church courts were greatly curtailed, and a strong law of 
mortmain stopped the growth of the ecclesiastical posses- 
sions. 

The statesman who worked out the details of these 
reforms was Peter de Vinea. A Capuan, born of poor 
parents, forced to beg his bread while studying at the 



126 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

university of Bologna, he ha.d. caught the attention of 
the Archbishop of Palermo, who recommended him to 
Frederic. By the year 1225 he was sitting on the judicial 
bench, and for the next twenty years he was, after Frederic, 
the most important man in the country. It was thanks 
also to Peter de Vinea's ingenuity that a great adminis- 
trative system was built up. The administrative capital 
of the kingdom was placed at Capua, where, like the 
Angevin exchequer, the Magna Curia took cognisance of 
all judicial business. The place of the English sheriff was 
filled by the chamberlains of the six provinces of the 
kingdom, who were in charge of the finance and adminis- 
tration of these provinces ; while justices, carefully selected 
and strangers to the district where their duty lay, were 
responsible for good order and criminal jurisdiction. In 
the villages the royal bailiffs acted as judges in the first 
instance, and looked after the royal interests. The grand 
justiciar, the head of the court of Capua, made yearly 
perambulations of the provinces to superintend the local 
machinery. Later in the reign, to meet the exigencies 
of the occasion, we find representative general courts, 
summoned to aid in taxation ; thus anticipating the 
meeting of estates in northern Europe by at least a 
generation. It is also interesting to note that Simon 
de Montfort, whom we in this country so closely associate 
with the foundation of parliament, visited Frederic's 
dominions, and no doubt was acquainted with his method 
of raising money and bringing himself into touch with 
the needs of the different orders of society throughout his 
kingdom. , 

But, in spite of all these reforms, Frederic was not able 1 
with a stroke of the pen to change men's natures. Although 
the system of justice and order he introduced was such 
as to earn the warm regard of the mass of his subjects, 
who remembered the old days of feudal anarchy, we find 



FREDERIC II 127 

him again and again complaining of the venality of his 
magistrates. 

It was not to be supposed that the Church would stand 
quietly by and see Frederic building up the power of his 
kingdom in the south, or allow him, unchallenged, to 
restrict her courts and her possessions, while she had such 
an excellent case against him as his failure to go on the 
crusade. But Frederic played with the mild old pope ; 
he protested he was doing the work of the Church in con- 
quering the Saracens in Sicily. In 1223 he met the Holy 
Father and promised he would sail to the East in 1225. 
To give him a further interest in the crusade, the pope 
suggested that the emperor should marry Yoland, the 
daughter of John of Brienne, the titular king of Jerusalem. 
But in 1225 Frederic was not yet ready to leave his own 
dominions, so he got his future father-in-law to beg for 
a two years' reprieve. The pope granted it on the under- 
standing that if he did not set out in 1227 he would be 
excommunicated. Soon after this the emperor married 
Yoland, yet barely fifteen. But on the wedding day he 
forced King John to make over to him all rights connected 
with the crown of Jerusalem. John, furious at being 
thus tricked, became Frederic's most bitter foe and a 
powerful tool in the hands of the pope. In 1226 the 
emperor held a diet at Cremona, to which came representa- 
tives of all his dominions. After arrangements had been 
made for finding men and supplies for the following year's 
crusade, he proceeded to renew his claims on the Lombard 
cities. The league at once sprang again into existence, 
and the pope seeing in Frederic's action the determination 
to make himself autocrat of all Italy, renewed the ancient 
alhance between the league and the Papacy. 

Such was the state of affairs when in the spring of 1227 
Honorius iii. died and was succeeded by Ugolino, Cardinal 
Bishop of Ostia, under the title of Gregory ix. The new 



128 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

pope was one of the best type of Churchman : a patron 
of every kind of hoUness, a diligent reader of the Scrip- 
tures, the protector of the new order of the Franciscan 
Friars, a master of canon law, a friend of learning, a skilled 
diplomatist ; but withal stern, uncompromising and 
harsh. No pope, not even Innocent iii. or Hildebrand, 
had a higher conception of his office. He set about at 
once reforming the college of cardinals, and soon found him- 
self backed up by Geoffrey Castiglione of Milan, Sinibaldo 
Fiesco of Genoa, Otto of Montferrat, and his own nephew 
Rinaldo of Anagni. 

Frederic at first did not grasp the changes that were 
coming, for in old times Cardinal Ugolino had been his 
friend. But Gregory soon undeceived him. He first 
took the emperor to task regarding his morals and the 
eastern luxury he maintained at his court, and he then 
proceeded to order him to set out at once on the crusade. 
During the summer the German, French and Italian 
warriors had been gathering in Apulia. The hot climate 
proved fatal to many a northerner, and when at last on 
the 8th of September the host set sail, the emperor was 
suffering from a fever. Three days later his galley put back, 
and he was landed too ill, as he alleged, to go forward. 
Whether he was really so ill, or whether he wanted to 
remain in Italy to watch the pope, has never yet been 
decided. Anyhow, within a few weeks he was well and 
able to enjoy his customary course of life. But Conrad 
of Thurmgia, whom he had left in command, died, and, 
without a leader, the crusade broke down, and most of 
the survivors sought their way home. The pope was 
furious, and, hastily gathering his chosen cardinals, on 
September 29th, excommunicated the emperor, and laid 
an interdict on every spot where he should attempt to 
reside. The friars only too anxious to support their patron 
swarmed over the country, spreading the papal decree 



FREDERIC II 129 

of excommunication and stirring up the people against 
their lord. 

Frederic recognised in the papal action a declaration 
of war, and war to the knife. He saw in Gregory's methods 
an eager desire to seize the first opportunity to break up 
the Hohenstaufen Empire, and to set up as a counterpoise 
a papal territorial power. ' No Roman emperor,' he 
bitterly declared, ' has been so badly treated by a pope. 
The Roman Church is so swollen with avarice that the 
goods of the Church will not suffice to satisfy it, and it is 
not ashamed to disinherit and make tributary kings and 
princes.' Here we see indicated for the first time that 
idea which for the next three centuries was to be the cry 
of all reformers : that the Church must return to its old 
state of apostolic poverty ; that irreligion springs from the 
bloated riches of the Church. 

For a moment the pope failed and Frederic was victorious. 
The people refused to be weaned from their allegiance by 
the friars, and the Ghibelline party at Rome drove the 
pope from the Holy City. Gregory had to seek refuge 
at Viterbo, and in June 1228 the emperor sailed for the 
East, and landed at Acre in September. With almost 
childish petulance Gregory, who had excommunicated 
Frederic for not going on the crusade in the previous year, 
now continued the excommunication, and forbade all the 
faithful to serve in his army, because he had set out without 
seeking a reconciliation with him. The result was that 
the Templars, the Hospitallers and the Patriarch of 
Jerusalem refused to obey Frederic's orders : but many 
of the crusaders, and notably the Teutonic Order under 
Herman von Salza, the grandmaster, thought more of their 
duty to Christendom than of obedience to the pope. 

Frederic had long been making preparation for his 
crusade : he had studied eastern politics, and knew well 
that the Moslem power was not united as it had been 

1 



130 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

under Saladin in the days of the third crusade. There 
was bitter hostiHty between the sultan of Egypt and the 
sultan of Damascus. Accordingly he had for some time 
past been in close communication with El-Karnil, the sultan 
of Egypt, who was in no way adverse to seeing a Christian 
state interposed between Egypt and Damascus. The 
unfortunate action of the pope in splitting the crusading 
host materially decreased the prestige which the arrival of 
the emperor gave to the cause of the Christians. Frederic, 
however, brought his diplomatic power to bear, and, in 
February 1229, arranged a ten years' truce with El-Karnil 
by which Bethlehem, Nazareth and Jerusalem were 
restored to the Christians on condition that the mosque of 
Omar at Jerusalem remained in Saracen hands. The 
bigots of Islam abused El-Karnil for granting so much, but 
he replied, ' After all, we are only giving up churches and 
ruins, and if Frederic makes a breach in the agreement 
I can easily recover Jerusalem.' 

The papal party was indignant at the treaty, because in 
it there was no mention of the Church. The patriarch not 
only refused to take any part in the coronation celebration, 
when, at mid-Lent, Frederic took the crown of Jerusalem 
from the high altar of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, 
but he cast an interdict on all the holy places, and forbade 
any priest from hallowing the coronation or celebrating the 
offices of the Church. Frederic gave fresh offence to the 
papal party by visiting the mosque of Omar. An Imaum 
of the mosque who conducted him gives us the following 
description of his visit : ' The emperor was red and bald : 
he had weak eyes : had he been a slave he would not have 
fetched two hundred drachms. Whenever he spoke he 
railed at the Christian religion. . . . When noon came we 
knelt for prayer and no one attem.pted to hinder us. 
Among those who knelt was the old Sicilian Mussulman who 
had been the emperor's tutor in Dialectics.' Such absence 



FREDERIC II 131 

of religious bigotry was of course construed by his enemies 
as being, not merely indifference, but hostility to Chris- 
tianity. It was little wonder then that on his return to 
Acre the papal party took every opportunity of showing 
their hostility and spite. 

By June the emperor was back again in Italy, having 
effected more by diplomacy for the Christian cause than 
generations of orthodox martial pilgrims : and having only 
failed in effecting more still, as von Salza declared, by reason 
of the hostility of the pope and the clergy. 

Frederic's presence in Italy was urgently needed. The 
empress Yoland had died in giving birth to a son, Conrad, 
before Frederic had set out on the crusade. Meanwhile, her 
father, John of Brienne, had gladly accepted the post of 
leader of the papal mercenaries. The pope had seized the 
opportunity of his absence to invade his dominions, and 
John of Brienne was carrying fire and sword through Apulia. 
The return of the emperor at once altered the appearance of 
affairs. The papal troops were driven over the border, and 
the patrimony invaded. The pope was soon glad to seek 
the good offices of Herman von Salza and Leopold of Austria 
in the cause of peace. In July 1230 a treaty was drawn 
up at San Germano : the emperor promising to respect the 
papal dominions acknowledged the papal overlordship 
of Sicily, while the pope removed the ban of excommunica- 
tion. Soon afterwards the two antagonists met at Anagni 
in the presence of von Salza, the only witness. Frederic's 
account of the meeting is this : * We went to the pope who, 
receiving us with fatherly love and with the kiss of peace, 
talked with the judgment of clear reason and removed our 
rancour, so that we were unwilling to talk of the past/ 
While Gregory wrote, ' The emperor has come to me with 
the zeal of a devoted son, and has shown me that he is 
willing to accomplish all my desires.' In spite of this, 
within a few weeks we find the pope protesting against 



132 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

Frederic's handling of ecclesiastical matters in Apulia. 
The fact was that the longstanding policies of the Papacy 
and the empire were most clearly defined in the character 
and aim of the two protagonists : there was no common 
ground on which a lasting peace could be built. 

For the next four years after the Treaty of San Germano, 
Frederic lived for the most part at his palace of Foggia, 
dividing his time between hunting and the literary studies 
which his soul loved. He lived in the greatest luxury, and 
his large harem, guarded by eunuchs, was a grave scandal 
to the Church. He was busy with his University of Naples, 
which he had founded as early as 1224, and to which he hoped 
to attract scholars by its rich endowments and the special 
privileges he granted to all who attended its classes. He 
desired to provide for every sort of learning ' in order that 
those who have hunger for knowledge may find within the 
kingdom the food for which they are yearning, and may not 
be forced to go into exile and beg the bread of learning in 
strange lands.' The University of Naples had the honour 
of numbering among its first students the great Thomas 
Aquinas. It was the earliest university founded by a royal 
charter, but its close dependence on the state seems to 
have stunted its growth. To his court Frederic welcomed 
the wizard, Michael Scott, and Leonard of Pisa, who intro- 
duced Arabic numerals and algebra into the West. By his 
care the study of Aristotle was revived. Italian poetry 
also dates from his time, and Frederic himself has left 
fragments of poetry in the Sicilian tongue which justified 
Dante in describing him as the father of Italian poetry. 
The emperor corresponded with learned men over all the 
known world, as witness the famous Sicilian questions on 
* What is the end of theology ? * ' What are the pre- 
liminary theories indispensable to it ? ' and ' The use and 
real number of the categories in logic* The questions 
were solved best, according to the Imperial mind, by 



FREDERIC II 133 

Ibn Sabin, a Mussulman from Messina. Frederic delighted 
in natural science, and kept a large menagerie for the study 
of wild animals. He was also intensely interested in 
medicine, and revived the old medical school of Salerno. 
Theory and abstract principles were not sufficient in his 
opinion. To decide on the question of digestion, he made 
a practical experiment. One man was given a large meal 
and kept quiet and then cut open, while another man was 
given a large meal, forced to take exercise, and then operated 
upon. 

We must now turn our attention to Germany. When, 
in 1220, Frederic left his northern kingdom he had appointed 
Engelbert, Archbishop of Cologne, as guardian of his young 
son Henry. Under his capable administration order was 
maintained. But in 1225 the good bishop was assassinated 
by a knight, and the country fell into complete anarchy. 
Amidst this confusion the young king reached man's estate, 
and at once set about to pursue a policy completely opposed 
to that of his father. The King of the Romans was dis- 
solute, rapacious and feather-headed. In 1231 Frederic, 
in pursuance of his policy of trusting the great nobles, 
forced Henry to promulgate at Worms a Statntiim in favor em 
principum. * It w^as a complete recognition of the terri- 
torial supremacy of the great nobles whether churchmen 
or laymen. No new castle or city was to be set up within 
their dominions, even by the emperor. . . . The towns 
and lesser cities were to be depressed in their favour. The 
cities were not to exercise jurisdiction outside the circuit 
of their walls, were not to entertain Pfahlbiirger, or harbour 
fugitives or vassals of any prince.' 

The young Henry continued to oppose his father, assum- 
ing an anti-clerical policy at the moment he desired to 
conciliate the Church. In spite of the warnings which he 
received when at the Diet of Cividale in Friuli in 1232, he 
strove to unite the towns and lesser nobles in revolt. 



134 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

Accordingly, in 1235 Frederic had himself to proceed north 
to depose his son. At Maintz he published a series of 
Constitutions. By these he attempted to limit the right of 
civil war, and to set up a court justiciar to hear all cases 
save those reserved for himself as emperor. But later, by 
renewing his former concessions to the magnates, he entirely 
ruined this attempt to strengthen the royal prerogative. 
Day by day the greater nobles became more important. 
Already the power of electing the king was passing from 
the general assembly of all the barons to an inner ring of 
magnates from whom were soon to be evolved the famous 
seven electors. To the revolted nobles Frederic was 
merciful. The only one who refused to surrender was the 
Duke of Austria, brother-in-law to the deposed King of 
the Romans. 

The year 1235 marks another change in Frederic's policy, 
for he then entered into good relationswith England, married 
Isabella, the sister of Henry iii., and bound the Welfs to 
his side by granting the new duchy of Brunswick to Otto 
of Liineburg. But he could not stay long in the north, 
for events were happening in Italy which demanded his 
immediate attention. He according^ had his nine-year-old 
son, Conrad, proclaimed King of the Romans in place of his 
brother and hurried off to Italy. However, he returned 
north for a brief space, in 1237, to assist in the campaign 
against the Duke of Austria, which ended in the capture of 
Vienna. 

As early as 1232 the Lombard cities had renewed their 
league, and similar leagues were springing up in Tuscany and 
Umbria. No doubt this was largely due to the influence 
of Gregory. But what made the situation more threatening 
was the fact that these Itahan leagues had promised support 
to the rebellious Henry. Mindful of former struggles the 
emperor thought that he would have no peace until the 
Lombard League was smashed once and for all. Following 



FREDERIC II 135 

his German policy he determined to set up the GhibelUne 
magnates of Northern Italy as a counterpoise to the towns. 
His chief supporters were two brothers of the house of 
Romano, by origin a German family. Eccehn had made 
himself master of Verona and Alberic of Vicenza. From 
Germany the emperor could get little support, but he 
reinforced the barons of the Po valley with his trusty 
Saracens from Lucera. At first success favoured the 
Imperial arms ; by a clever ambuscade he destroyed the 
Lombard force at Cortenuova on November 27th, 1237, 
half-way between Milan and Brescia. This defeat almost 
broke up the league, and only a few stalwart cities like 
Milan, Alessandria and Piacenza held out. Frederic 
rewarded his general Eccelin da Romano by granting him 
one of his bastard daughters in marriage. 

Up till now Gregory had not openly taken the side of the 
league. But enemies reported that after the triumph of 
Cortenuova Frederic had boasted that the pope's turn 
would come next, and that he would reduce all Italy to its 
obedience to the Imperial crown. For long Herman von 
Salza had struggled to prevent a breach between the 
emperor and the pope, but the grandmaster of the 
Teutonic Order died in March 1239. Gregory now for the 
second time launched a bull of excommunication against 
Frederic, and absolved all his subjects from their allegiance. 
The pope had strong allies in the Dominican and Franciscan 
friars, who by their powers of preaching and their ministra- 
tions to the sick were in touch with the people throughout 
western Europe. Both pope and emperor strove to win 
over public opinion. The pope accused Frederic of the 
most shameless profligacy, of blasphemy, and of being a 
heretic. The emperor retahated by alleging that the 
pope in joining the Lombard League was supporting the 
Paterines, who were heretics. They both sent emissaries 
and letters of appeal for help to all the courts of the West. 



136 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

Gregory strove to stir up a revolt in Germany, but for the 
time Frederic's policy towards the magnates proved its 
worth. They saw that there was little more that they could 
gain from the crown. Meanwhile, the German episcopate 
under the Archbishop of Maintz stood by the young King 
of the Romans, indignant at Gregory's attempt to persuade 
either the Duke of Austria or Robert of Artois, brother of 
St. Louis, to seize the crown. 

Frederic proceeded to incorporate the duchy of Spoleto 
and the March of Ancona in the Imperial dominions : 
and then to concentrate his efforts against the Lombard 
League. The pope replied by summoning a general council 
to condemn the emperor. Frederic not unnaturally refused 
to give safe-conduct to those bishops who answered the 
summons. Thanks to the Pisan ships he was able to 
capture the Genoese fleet which w^as conducting the 
Spanish, French, and North Italian bishops to Rome. 
His bastard son Enzio, the king of Sardinia, escorted the 
prisoners to Naples, where they were kept ' heaped together 
like pigs.' Everything for the moment seemed to favour 
the Imperial cause, for, some time after the capture of the 
council in August 1241, Gregory died. Thereon Frederic 
withdrew into his own dominions under pretence of allowing 
the cardinals to assemble to choose a new pope. The 
choice fell on Celestine iv., who died a few weeks later. 
Then followed a papal interregnum of eighteen months. 
But at last the cardinals plucked up courage to elect 
Sinibaldo Fiesco. Sinibaldo took the title of Innocent iv., 
a title of ill-omen to the empire. Frederic, when he heard of 
the choice, lamented, ' I have lost a good friend, for no pope 
can be a Ghibelline.' 

Meanwhile, in 1241, a Mongol invasion had swept over 
Russia, Poland and Hungary. The Teutonic knights 
whom Frederic had transferred from Palestine to Prussia 
were defeated, and for a moment it seemed as if Christian 



FREDERIC II 137 

Europe was in danger. But pope and emperor were 
too intent on their struggle for supremacy to think of 
Christendom. It was the death of the Baty, khan of 
the Tartars, which recalled the savage hordes. The back 
wave of the Tartar invasion fell on the Charismians, a 
savage tribe in Asia Minor. This tribe driven southwards 
was diverted by the Moslem caliphs to Palestine. Thus 
it was that in 1243 Jerusalem fell once again into Moslem 
hands. 

But, in spite of this, Innocent iv., once he gained the 
papal tiara, thought of nothing but of humbhng the 
emperor. Frederic accordingly again directed his forces 
against Rome itself. In June 1244 the Saracens were 
overrunning the Campagna, and the pope had to leave the 
Imperial city and fly northwards. He fixed on Lyons 
as his refuge. From there he issued a summons to a 
general council. A considerable number of prelates 
attended, though the number of French and Germans 
was not very great. Among the Enghsh prelates was 
the famous Grossetete, Bishop of Lincoln. The pope 
declared that he had summoned the council to deal with 
five matters. To protect Christendom from the Tartars ; 
to unite the eastern and western churches ; to extirpate 
heresy ; to revive the crusades ; and lastly, to condemn the 
emperor. Frederic had sent as his representative to the 
council his chief justiciary, Thaddaeus of Suessa. Thad- 
daeus argued that his master was no heretic, because * he 
will not allow any usurer to dwell within his dominions.' 
This was a most happy hit against the papal court. 
Then he demanded a respite to consult the emperor, who 
might be willing to appear before the council in person. 
To this the pope replied, ' God forbid, I have had enough 
already to escape his snares ; if he come I go.' Thaddaeus 
was granted but a fortnight's respite, and during his absence, 
on July 17th, 1245, Innocent in the name of the council 



138 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

deposed Frederic. ' We order,' he said, ' those who have 
the right of election within the empire to proceed at 
once to a fresh election. As regards Sicily, we ourselves 
will do what is fitting after taking the advice of our 
brethren the cardinals.' 

The high-handed action of the pope caused civil war 
to spread from Italy to Germany. St. Louis of France 
in vain remonstrated with the pope, and in vain Frederic 
offered to allow an ecclesiastical commission to investigate 
his orthodoxy. The pope was implacable, and merely 
replied by promising the spiritual blessings, usually allowed 
only to crusaders, to all who would take up arms against 
the emperor. Papal intrigues in Germany resulted in 
the defection of the Archbishop of Cologne and three other 
great prelates. These ecclesiastics with some bishops 
and a few temporal princes met together and elected Henry, 
the margrave of Thuringia, as King of the Romans. Conrad 
summoned his warriors, and civil war ensued. After 
varying success, in 1247 Henry of Thuringia died. Thereon 
the papal party tried to persuade Haco of Norway to 
become their king, but he replied, ' I will willingly fight 
the enemies of the Church, but I will not fight against 
the foes of the pope.' At last Count William of Holland 
accepted the crown, and a dreary civil war raged over 
Germany for the next seven years. 

Meanwhile, in Italy, Frederic, embittered by the pope's 
implacable hatred, threw prudence to the winds, and 
enlisted in his service the heretical Cathari of Lombardy. 
He seriously began to consider the question of setting him- 
self up as a sort of mystical head of the Church in oppo- 
sition to the pope, claiming to be vicar of Christ, a lay 
pope, a Christian caliph — nay, an emanation of the Deity. 
He was much influenced by the abbot Joachim, a Neapoli- 
tan seer, who had prophesied wonderful things about his 
reign. His policy to a great extent foreshadowed that 



FREDERIC II 139 

of those princes who some three hundred years later led 
the Reformation. His great maxim, borrowed from the 
Franciscans, was that ' It is upon poverty and simplicity 
that the Primitive Church was built up, in those days 
when she was the fruitful mother of saints. No one may 
presume to lay other foundations for her than those 
appointed by the Lord Jesus.' In practice he attempted 
to make the Church dependent on the state. He excluded 
all papal bulls, and condemned as heretics all who denied 
his absolute supremacy over the Church. 

Meanwhile the war became more fierce and retaliation 
more brutal. Tuscany lay crushed, and Enzio and Eccelin 
seemed certain to shatter the Lombard League. Frederic 
was considering the possibility of crossing the Alps and 
capturing the pope at Lyons, when an event occurred 
which altered the whole complexion of affairs. In 1247 
Parma was captured by a coiip-de-main on the part of 
some desperate partisans of the Guelphic cause. Papal 
adherents resolved to hold it, and the unfortunate city 
became the centre of the struggle between the two con- 
tending parties. For over a year Frederic lay outside 
the town. Just when it seemed that the city must sur- 
render, by a fatal error he relaxed his vigilance for but 
one day. The Parmesans made a bold sally, and before 
the emperor could return they captured the new town 
he had built up against the city, the whole of the court 
and his harem. Among the slain was Thaddaeus. 

This disaster proved the turning point in the war. The 
papal party took courage : Frederic's claims to spiritual 
domination disgusted many of his adherents : the barons 
of Apulia rose in revolt. Under these disasters and the 
dread of assassination — for the pope stopped at nothing 
— Frederic became harsh, mistrustful and vindictive. 
His suspicion even fell on Peter de Vinea. He ordered 
his former confidant to be arrested, and had his eyes 



140 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

torn out. The wretched man committed suicide to escape 
further tortures. In 1249 Enzio was defeated and cap- 
tured. Next year, however, the GhibeUine cause was once 
again in the ascendant. But the good news came too 
late. Frederic, completely broken in health, spent the 
summer at Foggia ; in the autumn he travelled north, 
but was taken ill at Florentino. There he knew he was 
dying, and his conviction was strengthened as he remem- 
bered an old prophecy which said he should die near iron 
gates at a town called Flora. * This is the spot,' he said, 
* long ago foretold where I must die. The will of God be 
done.' After drawing up his will he died calmly, as his 
friends said, in the white robe of a Cistercian ; or, as his 
enemies said, racked by the hideous doubts of despair. 
He was buried some months later at Palermo. 

With Frederic fell the empire. No other emperor at- 
tempted to re-establish its claims to world-wide supremacy. 
The year following his death was an interregnum. 
When the Imperial crown was restored it graced the 
brows of those who either looked on it as an empty 
title of honour, or a means of magnifying the im- 
portance of their own little German principalities. The 
sacerdotium had conquered the regnum. But its victory 
was short-lived, for soon the sacerdotium was itself to 
bow before the studium. 

Though with Frederic fell his cherished aims, he is yet 
one of the most interesting studies in history. So great 
was his personal influence that many besides the followers 
of the abbot Joachim believed * He shall resound among 
the people, he is alive, and yet is not alive.' Almost ten 
months after the emperor's death, Salimbene, a famous 
Lombard historian, could not believe that the news was 
true. It was not until he heard the pope himself declare 
it that he believed. A friend whispered to him, ' So the 
emperor is dead, which you would never believe ! Put 



FREDERIC II 141 

away your Joachim ! ' Forty years later bets were still 
made in Germany that the great emperor would return 
with a mighty host. 

It is as the type of the wonderful renaissance of the 
thirteenth century that Frederic is now best remembered. 
Even to us he seems a marvel, though so modern are his 
ideas that we can understand him better than any other 
mediaeval character. But to those of his age he was an 
enigma. His contemporary title was Stupor Mundi — 
' the wonder of the world.' And well he might be so 
called with his marvellous versatihty, his poetic genius, 
his scientific investigations, his breadth of view in the 
regions of theology and philosophy, his mastery of 
political craft, his quickness of perception even in military 
matters where least of all he shone. 

At the commencement of his political career Frederic 
had a hard task. Seemingly overshadowed by the dominat- 
ing personality of Innocent iii., with no resources save a 
handful of knights and the prestige of the Hohenstaufen 
name, by sheer force of character he subjugated Germany, 
and thus quietly prepared for the great struggle with the 
Papacy. In this struggle he allowed neither justice nor 
morality to weaken his actions, and while we may blame 
his falsehood, cunning and cruelty, we must remember 
his early education, the whole course of which had been 
to implant in his mind that principles were nothing and 
opportunism everything. Looking back we can see clearly 
the lines on which he worked. Reading the lessons of 
the past he felt that the struggle must be fought out on 
Itahan soil, and that it w^as impossible owing to geographical 
considerations to rule Germany from Italy. He accord- 
ingly determined, first of all, to establish an equilibrium in 
Germany which could not be upset by papal wiles, and 
then to concentrate his attention on Italy. 

It was thus with deliberate intent that he set about to 



142 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

strengthen the greater temporal and ecclesiastical princes 
in Germany. His policy was to grant them such extensive 
concessions that they became practically autonomous, and 
had no inducement to rebel against him. Thus he became 
to no small extent the founder of the political system which 
existed in Germany until Napoleonic times. 

Meanwhile, in Italy he set himself to build up a highly 
centralised kingdom, rich and strong enough to enable 
him to maintain with proper dignity the position of 
emperor. For this purpose he systematically crushed 
all feudal and ecclesiastical franchises. Then feeling 
himself ready, choosing his own time, he went on to the 
East, and by his successful diplomacy completely threw 
into the shade the crusading efforts of the Papacy. 

On his return he showed the pope that he was master. 
But the papal party would not own to defeat, and with 
the appearance of Gregory ix. their prospects brightened. 
Frederic was compelled to attempt to subdue the whole 
of the peninsula. He has been greatly blamed for so 
doing, but the policy of the Papacy being to overthrow 
him at all costs it is difficult to see what else he could have 
done. Had he been successful Italy might have found 
her unity in the thirteenth century. Unfortunately, with 
his death his empire crumbled like that of Napoleon, for 
it owed its existence entirely to the personality of its ruler. 
Though of course there are many differences, there is still 
a strong similarity between Frederic and Napoleon. Both 
of them captivated all those with whom they came into 
contact, and by their genius attracted even their enemies. 
They each believed in their destiny, and thought that 
the end ever justified the means. They both dreamed of 
a world-wide dominion, and as their ambitions grew their 
judgments became clouded, and they regarded facts not as 
they were but as they wished them to be. They could 
not beUeve that they were bound by the ordinary laws 



FREDERIC II 143 

of morality. They both failed to establish a lasting 
despotism founded on administration and law, and at their 
fall their empires perished with them. 

But Frederic never reached the heights gained by 
Napoleon; for though Napoleon was quite as sensual he 
never, like Frederic, allowed his pleasures to interfere with 
his business. Let Salimbene's words stand for Frederic's 
epitaph, ' In* truth there would have been few rulers in 
the world like him had he loved God, the Church, and his 
own soul. ' 



CHARLES IV 

The thirteenth century, as we have seen, was an age of 
marvellous progress. New realms of speculation were 
opened up before men's eyes. In religion, in learning, 
and in culture possibilities were unfolding, such as had not 
been dreamt of for centuries. There was a quickening of 
life, a joy of living, an enthusiasm which is seen but seldom 
in the history of the world. But when ideals are realised, 
when knowledge is gained, when the first flush of conquest 
is passed, there invariably follows a reaction. There is not 
the same glamour in making good a position as there is in 
attacking and carrying a stronghold. After the enthusiast 
comes the practical man who has to assimilate the gains 
of his predecessors to the use of everyday life. With 
rules comes the consequent loss of elasticity. Society 
hardens down into that humdrum existence which seems 
necessary before another great step forward can be taken. 
Nature demands her periods of recuperation. Such a 
period was the fourteenth century. 

We are taught to call the fourteenth century a time of 
decadence, for in it we find no great ideals, no burning 
enthusiasm. It is marked by a growing selfishness, and 
increasing demand for material things ; for greater comfort, 
greater wealth. Concurrently we notice in the establish- 
ment of estates of the realm or parliaments, in the growth 
of democratic institutions in the cities of Italy, and in the 
expansion of the Hanseatic League, that growing com- 
mercial spirit which was the true characteristic of the 

144 



CHARLES IV 145 

age, rather than the so-called chivalry which flourished 
amid the thunder of the Hundred Years' War between 
France and England. 

Frederic 11. was the last emperor who had any claim to 
be called the spiritual descendant of Charlemagne, or rather 
of Otto the Great. On his death the component parts of 
the empire fell asunder. The title of emperor remained 
to the German king, but it was now an empty honour 
to be sold by the electors to whoever would pay the best 
price for it. At first the Imperial crown was offered to 
scions of the great royal families like Richard of Cornwall 
or Alfonso of Castile. But the experiment failed, when it 
was seen that the office brought with it but little honour and 
great expense. Thereafter it became customary for the 
electors to give the crown to some German prince of lesser 
rank, who would willingly grant away the Imperial fiefs 
in payment for the dignity, and whose family possessions 
were not so great that he could endanger the position of 
the electors themselves. 

Originally the German kings had been chosen by the 
chief men, and approved of by the acclamations of the host. 
Gradually the choice of the monarch had fallen into the 
hands of the tenants-in-chief at the nomination of an inner 
ring of princes. By the middle of the thirteenth centur3'' 
custom, tradition and superstition fixed the number of 
the inner ring at the mystical figure of seven. From the 
election of Rudolph of Hapsburg in 1272, for some centuries 
the electors remained seven in number. The dignity was 
attached to the three archbishoprics of Cologne, Maintz 
and Trier, the crown of Bohemia, the dukedom of Saxony, 
the palatine countship of the Rhine, and the margravate 
of Brandenburg. 

While the empire was thus in the throes of dissolution 
its rival, the Papacy, had fallen from its high position. 
The death of Frederic 11. had not altogether freed it. 

K 



146 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

Frederic's illegitimate son Manfred had seized the crown 
of Sicily. Innocent iv. and Alexander iv. could not subdue 
him, and at last Urban iv. offered the crown to Charles of 
Anjou, the brother of St. Louis of France. In 1266 Manfred 
fell in battle at Grandella, and by 1268 the death of his 
nephew Conradin, the last Hohenstaufen, brought resistance 
to an end. But Urban 's successors found to their cost that 
Charles was too ambitious to be a comfortable neighbour, 
and it was only the brutality of his rule which prevented 
him from becoming monarch of Italy. In 1282 a vile 
insult offered to a woman by a French soldier, during a 
procession on Easter Monday, caused a rising in Palermo. 
Four thousand men, women and children, partisans of 
Charles, were massacred. This incident, known as the 
Sicilian Vespers, caused the opponents of the Angevin rule 
to summon to their aid Peter iii.. King of Aragon, who 
successfully established himself in the island. But the 
Angevins retained Naples ; hence arose the title of the 
Two Sicilies, for it was not till 1435 that the crowns of 
Sicily and Naples were again joined under one ruler. 

But though the Papacy was thus suddenly relieved from 
this new danger the days of its greatness were passed. The 
spiritual enthusiasm of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries 
was dead. The occupiers of the papal throne now sought 
to rule as territorial princes. Like the new type of 
emperors, they used their powers to increase the dignity, 
importance, and possessions of their own families. The 
great clans of the Orsini and Colonna struggled with each 
other to place their nominees on the chair of St. Peter. 
It was little wonder, therefore, that the papal influence 
was on the wane, that Philip iv. of France and Edward i. 
should scorn the attempts of Boniface viii. to prevent 
them from taxing the clergy for the defence of their realms, 
and that they retaliated on the pope for his bull ' Clericis 
Laicos.' The final degradation came when, in 1303, 



CHARLES IV 147 

French troops actually took the pope prisoner at Anagni. 
Thereafter, by French bribes, the Archbishop of Bordeaux 
became pope as Clement v. His election took place at 
Lyons, and he never ventured into Italy. From 1309 he 
resided at Avignon, a small papal enclave in Provence, 
only separated from France by the Rhone. Hence began 
what is known as the seventy years of * The Babylonish 
Captivity.' 

While the empire and the Papacy were thus on the wane, 
and Italy and Germany were breaking up into a medley 
of small semi-autonomous states, in western Europe we 
find an entirety different phenomenon. There we see the 
rise of national monarchies at the expense of the feudal 
baronage. In the Iberian Peninsula, from the beginning 
of the twelfth century, the Christians had gradually been 
recovering the country from the Moors. In 1139 Alfonso 
Henriquez, Count of Oporto and Coimbra, defeated the 
Moors at Ourique, and next year assumed the title of King 
of Portugal. At the beginning of the thirteenth century, 
thanks to the efforts of Innocent in., the kings of Aragon 
and Navarre joined Alfonso viii. of Castile, and in 1212 
was fought the famous battle of Las Navas de Tolosa which 
secured the final preponderance of Christianity in Spain. 
By the end of the thirteenth century the Moors had been 
driven southward, and their only possession was the little 
kingdom of Granada. This success was due mainly to the 
work of James i. of Aragon (1212-1276) and of Frederic in. of 
Castile (1214-1252.) But the very excellence of these rulers 
and of Alfonso x. of Castile, surnamed the Wise (1252-1284), 
tended to accentuate the differences between the kingdoms 
of Castile and Aragon, and prevented the growth of a 
united kingdom in the Peninsula. 

In France the successors of Philip Augustus steadily 
placed before themselves the work of building up a strong 
monarchy, and of gradually extending their possessions 



148 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

from the Pyrenees to the Rhine. This necessitated the 
expulsion of the EngUsh from Guienne. From the time of 
Phihp IV., le bel (1285-1314), we find as an accepted axiom 
in the government of France, que veut le roi, si veut la hi. 
Phihp was succeeded by his three sons, who all died without 
male issue living long enough to succeed them. Conse- 
quently in 1328 France was faced with the question 
whether she would be governed by a woman, or rather by 
that woman's husband, a foreign prince. To meet this 
situation the lawyers discovered the Salic Law, which, 
they maintained, laid down that the French could not be 
governed by a woman. Accordingly, the crown went to 
Philip of Valois, the heir male, a nephew of Philip iv. 

Among the claimants to the French crown was Edward 
III. of England, whose mother Isabella was a daughter of 
Phihp IV. Edward at first accepted the decision of the 
French, and did not press his claim. He was busy with the 
attempt to fulfil his grandfather's pohcy of incorporating 
Scotland in his dominions. But Philip, jealous of Edward 
and anxious for a pretext to attack Aquitaine, attempted to 
interfere with the wool trade in Flanders. Edward, justly 
recognising that this disturbed the whole economic fabric 
of England, retaliated, and, to gain the support of the 
Flemish, reasserted his claims to the crown of France. 
Hence out of purely commercial reasons arose the Great 
Hundred Years' War, the swan's song of Chivalry which 
produced the Order of the Garter and the famous Free 
Companies, the predecessors of Standing Armies. 

In Germany, as we have said, since the death of Frederic 
II. the Imperial crown had become the gift of the electors. 
They tended to place it on the head of some German prince, 
who they considered had too little power to give them 
trouble. The policy of these new emperors was to utilise M 
their position, to increase their family possessions. | 
Rudolph, the first Hapsburg, had during his tenure of the 



CHARLES IV 149 

Imperial throne added to the small Swabian possessions 
of his family the Imperial fiefs of Styria, Carinthia and 
Austria. After the brief reign of Adolf of Nassau, Albert of 
Hapsburg had gained the crown, and attempted to seize 
for his family the kingdom of Bohemia. On his death the 
electors, thinking the Hapsburgs were getting too powerful, 
decided to make a complete change. The Emperor Henry 
seemed to justify their choice. Instead of attempting to 
aggrandise the Luxemburgs, he set before himself the task 
of re-establishing the power of the empire in Italy. His 
career was cut short by poison, but not before his son 
John raised the prestige of his house by marrying Elizabeth 
of Bohemia, daughter of Wenzel 11. of the old dynasty, that 
represented the Bohemian cause against Henry of Carinthia, 
the Hapsburg candidate. On the death of his father the 
electors passed over John as too young for the Imperial 
crown, and to spite the Hapsburgs elected Louis of Bavaria. 
The reign of Louis (1313-1347) was marked by constant 
quarrels between the empire and the Papacy, due to the 
demand of the pope to decide disputed Imperial elections. 
The emperor was assisted in his struggle by a vigorous 
national sentiment, for the people of Germany felt that the 
pope was merely a tool of the king of France. They 
resented the attempted interference of a hostile power. 
This national feeling found expression in the declaration of 
Reuse (1338) — which was endorsed by the diet of Frankfort 
— that the prince who was legally chosen by the electors 
should become king and emperor, without any further 
ceremony or confirmation. Meanwhile, the Emperor Louis 
was working hard to aggrandise his own house. On the 
death of his cousin he seized Lower Bavaria. On the 
extinction of the old Ascanian line he conferred Branden- 
burg on his son Louis. He took upon himself to annul the 
marriage of Margaret of Hapsburg and of the Tyrol with 
John of Bohemia, and remarried her to his own son 



150 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

Louis. Hence he alienated both the clergy and the lay 
princes. Clement vi., the new pope, elected in 1346, took 
advantage of this dissatisfaction to organise a party against 
him. A Frenchman by birth, he longed to see the Imperial 
crown on the brow of the king of France. Failing that, he 
looked about for a suitable candidate. John of Bohemia, 
son of the Luxemburg emperor, was now blind, having lost 
his sight in a campaign against the heathen Wends. He 
accordingly was ineligible, so the pope fixed on Charles, 
his second and most capable son. Charles had been brought 
up at the French court, his aunt was Queen of France, and 
his whole inclination and training made him more French 
than German. He had had also some considerable experi- 
ence of war and politics in the Peninsula during the brief 
period his father had successfully united all parties in 
Italy. 

On June nth, 1346, Charles was elected King of the 
Romans by the votes of the three electoral archbishops 
and those of his father, John of Bohemia, and of Rudolf of 
Saxony. But in spite of this election his chances of suc- 
ceeding to the Imperial throne seemed small. The house of 
Luxemburg, in addition to the Httle principaHty of that 
name, possessed Bohemia. But, in addition to Bavaria, 
the Wittelsbachs ruled over the palatinate, the Tyrol, 
Hainault, Holland, Zealand, Friesland and Utrecht, 
while at the head of the Swabian League was Stephen, 
second son of the Emperor Louis. 

Immediately after the election the quixotic old king of 
Bohemia hurried off with his son to help Philip of France 
in his war with England. The battle of Crecy was in fact 
Charles' first appearance as King of the Romans. There, 
while his father lost his life but gained immortal fame, 
Charles seems early in the day to have considered discretion 
the better part of valour. From the stricken field he 
reappeared in Germany as the Pfaffen-Kaiser, or ' parson 



CHARLES IV 151 

emperor/ Discredited in war, derided as the tool of the 
Papacy, a man who appeared to think * that honour had 
vanished leaving caution in its stead/ Charles seemed the 
most contemptible of antagonists. The Imperial cities 
refused to open their gates to him. Everywhere men 
spoke of the boast of Pope Clement that he held the 
Imperial crown in his gift. It was shrewdly suspected that 
the puppet emperor had gone back on the declaration of 
Reuse, and had admitted that the Imperial coronation could 
not take place until confirmation had been given by the 
pope. Further, men declared that he had agreed to allow 
the pope to arbitrate between France and Germany. 

But though he lacked personal courage on the field of 
battle, Charles was endowed with a dogged perseverance 
and an insensibility to humihation, which in the long 
run won him the victory. Fraud and cunning were his 
weapons ; optimum aliena insania frui was his motto. 
Rejected and jeered at by the German princes, he found 
in Bohemia a strong support. From there he waged an 
unequal civil war against the Emperor Louis, until slowly 
fortune turned to his side. The people of Brandenburg 
had no love for their new margrave, the son of the Emperor 
Louis ; it only required the appearance of a pretender 
for them to rise against his rule. Such a one was speedily 
found by the instigation of Charles. Waldemar, the last 
of the Ascanian margraves of Brandenburg, had died as 
long ago as 1319. Jacob Rehbock, a miller, who bore a 
close personal resemblance to Waldemar, was encouraged 
by Charles and the Archbishop of Magdeburg to impersonate 
the dead margrave. The story was spread that Waldemar 
had never died, but had gone on a long pilgrimage to 
expiate a secret crime which weighed on his conscience. 
Soon nearly the whole of Brandenburg rose for the * false 
Waldemar.' Charles sent men and money to his aid. 
The Wittelsbachs quickly lost nearly all Brandenburg save 



152 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

Frankfort-on-the-Oder, which Charles himself invested 
with his army. 

Meanwhile, the Emperor Louis, the Bavarian, died on 
October nth, 1347. Thereon the electors of Brandenburg, 
the palatinate, Maintz and Saxony offered the Imperial 
crown to Edward iii. of England, who had assisted the 
Bavarian cause by preventing France from sending aid to 
Charles. But Edward, even if he desired the honour, 
could not accept it. The war with France engaged all 
his attention ; moreover, the English parliament refused 
to allow him to accept a position which might sacrifice 
England to Germany. The electors next offered the 
crown to Louis of Brandenburg, son of the late emperor. 
But he preferred Brandenburg to the empire, and confined 
his attention to trying to recover that province from 
Charles and the false Waldemar. Frederic of Meissen, 
in turn, refused the barren honour. At last Gunther of 
Schwartzburg, a distinguished knight, but below the 
princely rank, was prevailed on to become the Imperial 
candidate. But before the electors could avail themselves 
of Gunther's well-known military skill he died in 1349, 
some say of the plague, others of poison administered by 
one of Charles' emissaries. 

Meanwhile, during 1348 the Black Death was sweeping 
over Europe, devastating the country, and leaving in its 
train anarchy, disorder, and administrative ruin. Men 
felt that it was no time to increase confusion b}^ civil war, 
and after the death of Gunther all parties acquiesced in 
the rule of Charles. Charles himself had been steadily 
strengthening his position, and dividing his foes. He had 
cunningly pointed out to Edward the need of an aUiance 
between them both against the king of France. He allowed 
no feelings of sentiment, friendship, or gratitude to stand 
in the way of advancement. One b}^ one, by the con- 
cession of privileges, he gained over the Imperial cities. 



CHARLES IV 153 

disunited by the death of the Emperor Louis and the 
ravages of the plague. He won the Hapsburgs to his side 
by a marriage between his second daughter Catharine and 
Rudolf, the eldest son of Albert of Austria. Next he broke 
up the Wittelsbach family compact by suing for the hand 
of Anne, daughter of the Elector Palatine, the head of the 
Wittelsbachs. Finally, he threw over the false Waldemar 
and reconciled himself with his most bitter opponent, 
Louis of Brandenburg. Thus by 1350 he was acknow- 
ledged as emperor throughout all Germany. 

While busily engaged in securing the Imperial crown, 
Charles was taking steps to build up for his family a 
position which, he hoped, might enable it — whether the 
Imperial crown remained with it or no — to control the 
destinies of Germany. Bohemia was to be the key of the 
Luxemburg position. If possible, other electoral posses- 
sions were to be gained as points d'appui. On Bohemia 
Charles lavished such care that he has been called the 
' father of Bohemia and the stepfather of the empire.' 
Even during the troubled years of 1347-1348 he was work- 
ing hard at his plans. Thanks to his position as protege of 
the pope he was able to procure a bull from Clement vi., 
whereby Prague was turned into a metropolitan see, 
independent of its former superior, the Archbishop of 
Maintz. In 1348, during the turmoil of civil war, he laid 
the foundation of the University of Prague, modelled 
closely on the lines of that of Paris, where he had himself 
studied in his youth. He eagerly set himself to increase 
and beautify the cities of Prague and Breslau, and with his 
own hands drew the plans for their extension. It is to him 
that Prague owns its famous bridge over the Moldau, and 
many of its finest buildings. The universit}^ soon fully 
justified the hopes of its founder. German and Slavonic 
nobles, merchants and students flocked to its halls, leaving 
again to spread the light of learning and the idea of 



154 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

patriotism throughout the possessions of /the house of 
Luxemburg. But Charles had wider ambitions still. He 
founded at Prague a house of Slavonic monks drawn from 
Bosnia, Croatia and Servia. His idea was to bind together 
Bohemia and the Slav states throughout Europe, and 
ultimately pave the way for a union between the Latin and 
Greek churches, 

Charles was quick enough to perceive that while land 
was still a sine qua non to power, and while religion 
and education were important in promoting national 
growth, more and more commerce and industry were 
becoming the great factors in the politics of the world. 
He accordingly set himself to foster the commerce of 
Bohemia and of Silesia. His commercial ideas did not rise 
superior to his age, and were probably those best suited to 
the circumstances of the day. The foreigner was rigidly 
supervised and the native protected. Every foreigner 
was compelled to expose his wares for sale in Prague, and 
was not allowed to withhold or retail his goods ; all bar- 
gains had to be conducted through a native merchant, and 
sold by Bohemian weight and measure. The approaches to 
Bohemia were improved : the waterway of the Moldau was 
made navigable to the Elbe. Charles even projected a 
canal to join the Moldau and the Danube, and thus to 
construct a new means of communication through Bohemia 
for the trade between Venice and the Hanseatic cities of 
the north. The tolls on the rivers were lowered, the roads 
were improved, and a better system of coinage was intro- 
duced. 

While the founding of a strong Bohemia was the darling 
scheme of Charles' life, he was not oblivious of his duties 
as emperor ; he had, indeed, clear plans as to the future 
of the Imperial policy. No one saw better than he did 
that the connection with Italy had destroyed the Imperial 
prestige and ruined Germany. But he was bound to the 



CHARLES IV 155 

Papacy by the treaty made at the time of his election as 
King of the Romans. In his anxiety to afford no pretext 
to his enemies, he determined, in 1354, to proceed to Italy, 
and there to go through the ceremony of coronation. There- 
after, he thought, would be the time to unfold those schemes 
of reformation which he had long been planning. So far 
he had consistently abstained from interference in Italian 
politics. Indeed, when, in 1351, Cola di Rienzi, the famous 
Roman tribune, had fled to Prague and demanded an 
audience he had merely listened to his schemes with curi- 
osity. Rienzi proposed that the pope and the clergy 
should be dispossessed of their temporal authority, that the 
petty tyrants should be driven out, and that the emperor, 
as supreme ruler of Christendom, should fix his head- 
quarters at Rome. Charles had no intention of allowing 
himself to be drawn into such an intrigue. Under the 
pretext that Rienzi's communistic ideas were heretical he 
handed him over to the Archbishop of Prague, and allowed 
that metropolitan to send him in chains to the pope. 
After some years of imprisonment Innocent vi. had won 
over Rienzi to his side, and at the time of the emperor's 
visit to Italy the former tribune was at Rome as a papal 
agent. The Ghibelline leaders, disgusted at this tergiversa- 
tion, were anxious to hail the emperor as the restorer 
of national unity. But Charles refused to listen to their 
envoys, and turned a deaf ear to the entreaties of Petrarch ; 
though he bestowed marks of distinction on the famous 
poet, and saluted the beautiful Laura. From Milan, where 
he was crowned with the iron crown, he hurried on to 
Rome, fomenting disputes between the petty Italian 
princes by the sale of privileges, and gaining the admira- 
tion of the pope by the purchase of relics, with which to 
decorate the churches of Bohemia. The Ghibellines, 
furious at his action, set fire to the house he lodged in at 
Pisa. As emperor-elect he entered Rome clad in his 



156 LEADING FIGURES IX EUROPEAN HISTORY 

Imperial robes, and was received \Wth great enthusiasm b\^ 
the legates. But immediately after the coronation he 
retired outside the walls to San Lorenzo, and the next day 
set off hurriedly on his journey to the north. 

Thus freed from all foreign entanglements Charles was 
ready next j^ear to proceed with his plans for the recon- 
struction of Germany. The result of numerous conferences, 
held during 1355-1356, was the famous Golden Bull, which 
regulated the Holy Roman Empire till its destruction in 
1806. Mr. Br}xe in his well-known epigram has said that 
Charles ' legalised anarch}* and called it a constitution.' 
But a careful review of the facts proves that he has been 
much maligned. There were two great evils in the body 
politic of the German kingdom : first, the difficulty of choos- 
ing a head ; second, the absence of anything like political 
unity, owing to the scanty authority possessed by the 
cro\^Ti. Both these difficulties arose from the fact that the 
German king was in theory the emperor of the West. 
As the emperor was supposed, like the pope, to be the 
head of the human race, it followed that the empire, 
* the common inheritance of mankind, could not be com- 
pared to any family, nor pass like a private estate by the 
ordinar}' rules of descent.' If, in future, confusion and 
disputed elections were to be avoided, there must be first of 
all some proper rules for election and machinery, whereb}- 
the elected head might be able to control the electors, 
princes, knights and imperial cities which formed the 
bod}' politic. We have seen how by Charles' time the 
number of the electors had been reduced to seven — three 
ecclesiastical and four temporal princes. But in the case 
of the temporal electors, o^\ing to the sj'stem of subdi\nsion 
among aU male heirs so prevalent in Germany, there was 
often a dispute as to the member of the family to whom 
the electoral vote belonged. In 1314, 1346 and 1348, the 
Saxon vote had been given on opposite sides by two rival 



CHARLES IV 157 

electors. The house of Wittelsbach was also now split 
into two distinct branches, the one owning the palatinate 
of the Rhine, the other Bavaria. Owing to the lack of 
authority in the Imperial crown warfare was common 
between the greater princes. The knights were turning 
into small robber chiefs, and the cities were tending to 
become, as in Italy, petty independent republics. The 
outlying provinces were seceding or being eaten up. 
France, who had already annexed Lyons, and for all pur- 
poses Dauphine, was the chief aggressor. Provence and 
Franche Comte were more obedient to her than to their 
legal lord. 

It was to remedy this state of affairs that in 1356 Charles, 
with the assent of the country at large, published the 
Golden Bull. The seven electoral votes, as before, were 
to belong to the three archbishoprics, Maintz, Cologne and 
Trier, and to the crown of Bohemia, the palatinate of the 
Rhine, the dukedom of Saxony, and the margravate of 
Brandenburg. Further, to enhance their importance 
certain Imperial dignities were given to the electors. 
The Archbishop of Maintz was granted the title of Chan- 
cellor of Germany, the Archbishop of Cologne became 
Chancellor of Italy, and the Archbishop of Trier Chancellor 
of Aries. The King of Bohemia became hereditary Chief 
Cupbearer, the Count Palatine Grand Seneschal, the Duke 
of Saxony Grand Marshal, and the Margrave of Branden- 
burg Grand Chamberlain. In future, Imperial elections were 
to be decided by a majority of votes in the electoral college, 
which was to be held at Frankfort. The elected sovereign 
was to be crowned at Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle) , and hold his 
first diet at Niirnberg. The Electors were to take precedence 
of all other princes. Their possessions were made heredi- 
tary and inalienable in the male line, and subject to the law 
of primogeniture. During a minority the guardianship of 
the elector and the electoral vote was to be restricted to 



158 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

the nearest male relative on the father's side. The electors 
were made all but independent sovereigns ; they were 
granted the rights of coinage and of final jurisdiction in 
their own territories. Their authority was further increased 
by the clause which forbade all confederations of subjects 
without the consent of the territorial lord. This section 
was directed against the Swabian towns and the Swiss 
cantons which had formed leagues and almost completely 
emancipated themselves from feudal control. Another 
clause forbade the towns to grant citizenship to pfahlbiirger, 
that is, to merchants and strangers ; it also forbade their 
receiving and protecting runaway serfs. 

The result of the Golden Bull was to erect in Germany 
a federation of autonomous states in place of a monarchy. 
For the next five hundred years it prevented Germany 
from becoming a consolidated kingdom. But it cer- 
tainly tended to put an end to further disruption. 
It did away with many of the uncertainties which had 
caused anarchy in the past, and it no doubt fostered the 
growth of local characteristics which have since proved 
of great benefit to the German people at large. More- 
over, it broke the connection between Germany and Italy, 
which had for so long been a source of weakness and 
trouble, and it definitely ended the interference of the 
pope in German affairs. The papal claim to confirm or 
veto an election was not mentioned, and in fact, though 
not in word, the Golden Bull legalised the revolution of 
Reuse, Innocent vi. indeed understood quite clearly that 
the bull put an end to papal influence in Germany, and 
he used all his force to oppose it. But Charles was now 
strong enough to resist the Papacy, and when the papal 
nuncio attempted to levy a tenth on the clerical revenues, 
the emperor retaliated by threatening to confiscate the 
property of the Church, on the plea of ecclesiastical reform. 

Charles never expected that the Golden Bull would be 



CHARLES IV 159 

the final word on the constitution of Germany. He all 
along regarded it as a temporary expedient to stop dis- 
ruption. All he hoped was for the time to check French 
aggression, to curb the growing independence of the 
princes, and to checkmate the ambition of the house of 
Hapsburg and the Bavarian Wittelsbachs. Meanwhile, 
he intended step by step to add to the territorial posses- 
sions of the Luxemburgs, until his successors had such a 
predominance in the electoral college that the crown 
might become practically hereditary in their house. He 
aimed in fact at creating a territorial monarchy in Germany 
like that erected by the kings of France and England, of 
which but one family, and that the Luxemburgs, should 
be rulers. But this was not to be, and by the irony of 
fate the Hapsburgs succeeded to the position which Charles 
had foreshadowed for his successors. 

With this policy before him, the emperor abstained 
when possible from all interference in European politics, 
and confined his attention to building up carefully the 
strength of his house. The first opportunity came in 
1356, when John, Duke of Brabant, died. His daughter 
had married Wenzel,Duke of Luxemburg, Charles' youngest 
brother. The Count of Flanders laid claim to Brabant, 
but Charles supported his sister-in-law and the estates 
of Brabant. An agreement was drawn up whereby in 
default of heirs being born to the duchess, the province 
of Brabant should fall in to the main line of Luxemburg. 
He himself on the death of Anne of Hapsburg married 
Elizabeth of Pomerania, a niece of Casimir of Poland, a 
woman of such extraordinary strength that she could 
wrench a horse shoe in two. The marriage was pohtic, 
as under Casimir the Great the Polish kingdom was 
becoming an important power. In 1364, Charles con- 
cluded with the house of Hapsburg one of those family 
compacts which form so marked a feature of the dynastic 



i6o LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

policy of the princes of Germany. In 1363 Meinhard, 
the only son of Margaret Maultasch of the Tyrol and Louis 
of Brandenburg, died. Rudolf of Austria at once laid 
claim to the Tyrol. He had shown his hostility to the 
Golden Bull by assuming the title of archduke. Charles 
saw an opportunity of conciliating him, and of perhaps 
ultimately gaining the Hapsburg possessions for the house 
of Luxemburg. Accordingly he granted the investiture 
of the Tyrol to Rudolf, on condition that the archduke 
agreed to a treaty of mutual inheritance, whereby, in the 
event of the extinction of either house, the other should 
inherit all its lands. At the moment it seemed much the 
more probable that the Hapsburgs would be the first to 
die out. As a matter of fact the treaty was never observed. 
But by the time, a century later, the Luxemburgs were 
extinct, the Hapsburgs by conquest or otherwise had 
gained nearly all their inheritance. 

In 1373 Charles acquired for his house a second vote in 
the electoral college, when he induced Otto, the Wittels- 
bach margrave of Brandenburg, to cede that province to 
him. By a treaty made at the time of the death of the 
Emperor Louis, Louis of Brandenburg had waived his 
rights to Upper Bavaria in favour of his brothers, Louis 
the Roman and Otto. But another brother, Stephen, 
stepped in, and was recognised as duke by the electors 
of Bavaria. The dispossessed brothers turned to Charles, 
who promised them help, on the understanding that, if 
they died without heirs, the emperor should succeed to 
Brandenburg. By 1373, Louis the Roman had died, and 
Charles induced the survivor, Otto, to place him in posses- 
sion of Brandenburg, which he destined for his son Sigis- 
mund, whom he had betrothed to Mary, daughter of the 
Angevin Louis, the great king of Hungary. 

The next link in the chain of intrigue was to secure for 
his son the succession to the Imperial crown. As early 



CHARLES IV i6i 

as 1374 he began to sound the electors on this subject. 
Wenzel, his son by Anne of Schweidnitz, his second wife, 
was now fifteen years old. There was nothing said in 
the Golden Bull as to the election of a successor during 
the life of the emperor ; in fact, the whole machinery as 
instituted by the bull provided against such an occur- 
rence. Charles, however, having always regarded the 
bull as a temporary expedient, had no scruples about 
acting contrary to its spirit. Judicious bribes and blandish- 
ments, and the possession of two votes in his family, over- 
came the reluctance of the remaining electors. On June 
i6th, 1376, Wenzel was elected King of the Romans at 
Frankfort, and crowned three weeks later at Aachen. 

While thus partly successful in the object of his life, 
Charles had to put up with many rebuffs on other points. 
Having, as he thought, for the time placed the empire on 
a sure footing, he desired if possible to put an end to the 
subserviency of the Papacy to the king of France. The 
papal residence at Avignon was prejudicial to German 
interests, and a cause of scandal to Europe. In 1368 
Charles induced Pope Urban v. to return to Rome, where 
for the last fourteen years Cardinal Albornoz had ruled 
the city in the names of successive popes. The cardinal 
had been extremely successful, and had gained over the 
whole of Romagna. He had also seized the opportunity 
of quarrels between the Visconti of Milan to seize 
Bologna. But when Urban v. entered Rome in 1369, in 
spite of the arrival of the emperor in the next year, he 
found it a very uncomfortable residence. The Visconti 
had declared war against him with the object of recover- 
ing Bologna. They cared nothing for bulls of excommuni- 
cation. Bernabo Visconti made the legate who brought 
the bull eat it, parchment, lead-seal and all. Charles, 
however, refused to allow himself to be dragged into war 
with Milan on behalf of the Papacy. He hurried back to 



i62 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

Germany in 1369, and a year later the pope returned to 
Avignon. In spite of the fact that both emperor and 
pope lost prestige by this expedition, Charles still clung 
to his desire of seeing the pope once more installed at 
Rome. In 1377 he induced the new pope, Gregory xi., to 
return to Italy : Gregory found a few months' residence there 
more than sufficient, and retired to Avignon to die. The 
election of his successor took place in Rome, and an Italian 
was raised to the papal chair, as Urban vi. The new 
pope alienated the French cardinals by his violence. They 
very soon withdrew to Avignon and elected a rival pope, 
Clement vii. Thus the net result of Charles' interference 
was to start ' The Great Schism ' in the Church which 
lasted forty years. Charles was bitterly disappointed by 
the failure of his diplomacy. He was actually trying to 
organise a coalition to oppose the French king and the 
French pope, when his death intervened. 

It was not only in his foreign policy that the last years 
of Charles' rule were unsuccessful. The Hanseatic towns 
of the north which controlled the trade with the Baltic, and 
were also the northern depots of the trade from the East, 
had become so strong that they might any day become 
formidable. In 1370, after carrying on a successful war 
against Denmark, they forced Waldemar ill. to sue for 
peace at Stralsund. In the south the Swabian towns 
refused to recognise Wenzel, being furious because the 
Imperial domains in Swabia had been used to purchase 
his election. In 1376, at Ulm, they renewed the Swabian 
League, and in the following year successfully defeated 
the forces of their old enemy the Count of Wiirtemberg. 
Charles was getting too old and too feeble to check the 
expansion of the league. He was glad to allow Wenzel 
to make terms with the malcontents and cede to them the 
right of union, thus dehberately throwing over one of 
the provisions of the Golden Bull. 



CHARLES IV 163 

Charles himself showed but scant respect for the bull. 
He divided Brandenburg from Bohemia, thus breaking 
his pledged word, and at the same time acting directly- 
contrary to the rules of primogeniture laid down by him- 
self. He carved out a duchy of Lausitz for his third son, 
John of Gorlitz. Luxemburg itself at the time of his 
death was still in the hands of Wenzel, his own brother, 
the husband of the Duchess of Brabant and Limburg. 
So when he died on November 29th, 1378, all that Charles 
left to his drunken eldest son Wenzel was Bohemia, 
Silesia and the Imperial crown, to which he succeeded as 
King of the Romans. 

Apart from the fact that he gave the shape to the Holy 
Roman Empire which it maintained till the Napoleonic 
wars, Charles is an interesting character as a typical 
example of the age. In person and character he was a 
Slav, not a Teuton. His Bohemian blood, which he in- 
herited through his mother, the daughter of Wenzel 11. 
of Bohemia, predominated over that of his father. He 
was small, thick-set, with drooping shoulders, bent head, 
high cheek bones and coal-black hair. Extremely versatile, 
he had profited by his education at Paris, and the years 
he had passed at Avignon. He was deeply versed in the 
learning of the age, and spoke five languages fluently. 
There still exists part of his biography which he compiled 
himself. He had the eastern love for pomp and display. 
He loved to wear the Imperial crown and robes. Yet in 
spite of his gorgeousness he was often extremely short of 
money. It is related that on one occasion he was arrested 
in Worms by a butcher, and detained at an inn until he 
could pay the bill for his food. While in his outward 
display Charles betrayed his Slavonic descent, he yet 
stands out in great contrast to the other members of his 
house. His father — the old blind king of Bohemia, of Crecy 
fame — is the typical knight errant of chivalry. Wenzel, 



i64 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

his eldest son, was the typical Teutonic boor. Sigismund, 
his second son — the last emperor of the Luxemburg 
house — with greater opportunities had not his stability, 
for he allowed himself to be won away from German 
politics by the vague longings for playing in Italy and 
elsewhere the role of universal emperor. 

By his appreciation of the importance of education and 
commerce, by his acquiescence in facts, in his recogni- 
tion of what was practical, and by the cleverness with 
which he made what use he could of the means he had in 
hand, Charles effected much for Germany, and, indeed, 
for Europe. How much he actually did we can best 
understand when we remember, that it was by adopting 
his policy, that the Hapsburgs built up their power, and 
that it was by following his- line of action that they saved 
Germany from the fate which dogged Italy up to the 
middle of the nineteenth century. It was not Charles' 
fault, but the unfortunate policy of the Hohenstaufen, 
a century earlier, which prevented the growth of a strong 
monarchy in Germany. The system of feudal states 
which he inaugurated, under the leadership of what he 
hoped would be the Luxemburgs, but which actually 
turned out to be the Hapsburgs, was probably the best 
expedient which was possible. It is manifestly, therefore, 
a great injustice to label him with the title of Stepfather 
of the Empire. 



LORENZO DE' MEDICI 

The fourteenth century, as we have seen, produced but 
few great men ; it was a period of rest ; civiHsation was 
making good the ground akeady gained, and material wealth 
was increasing. In the fifteenth century the seeds of new 
ideas, which had been slowly and unobtrusively germinat- 
ing, burst forth into a splendour which has been the delight 
and admiration of succeeding ages. Italy was the garden 
which produced the most splendid crop. 

There were many causes which led to this. First, 
owing to its geographical formation, the Italian Peninsula 
naturally fell into certain closely defined units. Secondly, 
because of the claims to universal power, first by the 
empire and then by the Papacy, the valleys of the Po 
and of the Arno, the highlands of the Apennines, the 
Campagna of Rome, the sea coast round Naples, the down 
lands of Apulia, the wilds of Calabria, and the island of 
Sicily, instead of being drawn together, became, as time 
wore on, more and more distinct in their aspirations and 
their governments. Thus it was that, after the disappear- 
ance of the Hohenstaufen, Italy fell into a number of self- 
contained units somewhat resembling the city-states of 
ancient Greece. 

In the north was Genoa, during the fourteenth century 
the great rival of Venice for the trade of the East, but 
defeated in the fifteenth century and glad to become the 
tributary of Milan. Occupying the basin of the valley of 
the Po lay Milan — the founder of the republican League of 

165 



166 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

the Lombard cities in the days of Barbarossa — the strong- 
hold of the Guelfic party, but the first to fall from the 
democratic ideal. Still, in the fourteenth century and in 
the first half of the fifteenth, under the Visconti, and later 
under the Sforzas, Milan prospered, and was ever ready to 
contest with Venice the supremacy over the cities which 
lay between them. A succession of wars at last fixed the 
Adda as the boundary between the two states. Venice 
had early become an oligarchy ; she owed her power first 
of all to her island position, and secondly to her trade with 
the East. She was forced to enter into Italian politics to 
secure for herself granaries on the mainland : this was the 
reason of her long wars with Milan. Southward from 
where the Via Flaminia crosses the Po at Piacenza lay the 
states of Modena, Ferrara, Bologna and Reggio. These 
little republics were the constant prey of Venice, Milan, 
and the pope. Westward from these, on the other side 
of the Apennines, lay Florence, the most democratic of 
Italian states, singularly favoured alike by climatic and 
geographical situation. Southwards across the Peninsula 
straddled the states of the Church, nominally under the 
direct control of the pope ; but, during the period of the 
Babylonish captivity, split up into little republics, falling, 
as the case might be, into the hands of an oligarchy, a 
tyrant, or a demagogue. Rome, perhaps, is typical of the 
rest, at times the prey of the Orsini and Colonna, at times 
madly following the Tribune Rienzi, at other times submis- 
sive to Cardinal Albornoz. The lower part of the Peninsula 
formed the kingdom of Naples, nominally a fief of the 
Papacy. Up to the beginning of the fifteenth century the 
crown of Naples had remained in the hands of the Angevins, 
though with many disputes, owing to the lack of direct 
male heirs. In 1435 Joanna, the last Angevin, died, and 
after a lengthy war Alfonso v. of Sicily once again united 
the crowns of Naples and Sicily. 



LORENZO DE' MEDICI 167 

The consequence of this aggregation of small states was 
that Italy was extremely weak. The bigger states were 
all jealous of each other and anxious to absorb their 
smaller neighbours. In the states where an oligarchy 
held sway, there was constant faction fighting, while in 
those which lay under a despotism there were constant 
conspiracies. This state of uncertainty had one redeeming 
feature : it produced an intense feeling of local patriotism, 
but by adding hatred and suspicion of all the other states 
it effectually closed the way to any growth of national 
sentiment. Originally the citizens of each state all served 
in the army ; but the constant succession of campaigns, 
the increasing length of the wars, and the superiority of the 
professional soldier over the armed citizen, led to the employ- 
ment of the condottieri. Consequently, the great majority 
of the people of Italy entirely neglected the training of 
arms, and gave themselves up to the pursuit of commerce. 
Thus there grew up in every state a large class of rich 
leisured citizens, whose existence produced the demand for 
learning and art, which did so much to stimulate the 
Renaissance. 

In Italy, in the fourteenth century, there had already 
commenced a reaction from the barren dialectics of the 
school men, who neglected all forms of research and 
concentrated their attention on logic and metaphysics. 
This reaction was equally aimed at theology, which was 
the only study not superseded by dialectics. A school of 
thought began to take form (of which Francesco Petrarca 
(1304-1374) is the chief exponent), which concentrated its 
attention on the study of ancient literature. The spirit 
which animated these scholars was threefold. First they 
studied the great Latin authors for the excellence of their 
style and literary form, and secondly because they found 
there a conception of life which was lost : a life which was far 
more generous, more rational, and more joyous than the 



168 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

life of the Middle Ages. To these students the classical 
literature of antiquity * was not merely a model, but a 
culture and indeed a life/ They used the expression 
litterae humaniores not to differentiate secular from theo- 
logical literature, but to denote the abiding and refining 
influence derived from classical literature and liberal art. 
The students of the fourteenth century regarded the study 
of the classics as the key to a higher form of life, which was 
not contrary to the Christian life but supplementary to it. 
It was not till well on in the fifteenth century that to attain 
the joy of life became regarded as a higher ideal than to 
follow the duty of life. But by the end of the century 
the Renaissance was deeply saturated with what is called 
' neo-paganism.' Thirdly, the imitation of the ancients 
was no mere pedantic exercise, for the Italians were fired 
with the desire to rescue from its degraded form the tongue 
of their ancestors ; that language which had once been 
the common tongue of the civilised world. 

With this new impetus to the study of classics came the 
necessity of learning Greek. The study of Greek had never 
entirely died out in Europe, but the number of students of 
classical Greek in the early years of the fourteenth century 
was very few ; indeed there were not many in Constantinople 
itself who knew the language in its classic form. Still, 
owing to the close connection between Italy and Constanti- 
nople, there were a considerable number of people in Italy 
who had a working knowledge of the Greek dialect of the 
day. Petrarch, to use his Anglicised name, actually began 
to study it, but did not proceed far. Boccaccio, of De- 
cameron fame, at the advice of his friend Petrarch made 
some considerable progress with it. The first real teacher 
of Greek in Italy was Manuel Chrysoloras, who lectured on 
Greek in Florence from 1397-1400. The enthusiasm that 
his visit created was immense, as one of his students wrote — 
* Chrysoloras of Byzantium . . . brought us Greek learning. 



LORENZO DE' MEDICI 169 

... I gave myself up to his teaching with such ardour 
that my dreams at night were filled with what I had 
learned from him by day.' From the time of this visit of 
Chrysoloras Italy never had cause to complain of the want 
of teachers of classical Greek. The demand was so great 
and the reward so munificent. 

Another consequence of the Renaissance was the sys- 
tematic search for manuscripts of the classical writers 
For centuries the Church had set its face against all secular 
learning, but there remained scattered throughout the 
monasteries of Europe and Asia Minor numerous manu- 
scripts, often in a very bad state of repair. A regular 
manuscript trade grew up. Men like Vespasiano da 
Bisticci of Florence (1421-1498) employed agents all over 
Europe to search the monasteries for manuscripts, and a 
large staff of trained men to repair and copy them. One 
of the most noted private collectors was Niccolo di Niccoli of 
Florence. His house was a veritable museum of marbles, 
coins, gems, and other relics of antiquity. He it was who 
secured the famous eleventh-century codex containing the 
work of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Apollonius Rhodius. 
At his death in 1437 he bequeathed eight hundred manu- 
scripts to Cosmo de' Medici. It is to the efforts of private 
individuals such as Niccoli that we owe the foundation in 
the fifteenth century of the great Italian libraries like the 
Laurentian and the Vatican. 

In spite of the incessant search for manuscripts, their 
careful reproduction and the gradual formation of libraries, 
copies of the classics and books of all sorts would have 
still remained scarce if it had not been for the introduction 
of printing. Without this discovery, the cultivation of 
letters would have always been slow, and confined purely 
to the wealthy and leisured classes. The honour of this 
new discovery lay with the Teutonic race, and is variously 
ascribed to John Koster of Haarlem (1438), John Fust of 



170 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

Maintz (1443), and John Gutenberg of Maintz, who, in 1450, 
invented movable cut-metal types. It was from Maintz 
that the art of printing spread over Europe. In 1465 the 
German printers Schweinheim and Pannartz set up at 
Subiaco the first printing-press in Italy ; within six years 
presses were established at Rome, Milan and Florence. 

Lorenzo de' Medici, known as the Magnificent, whose 
name is always so closely connected with the Renaissance, 
was born at Florence in the year 1448. His father was 
Piero, son of Cosmo de' Medici, the first of the family to 
make that position for himself in the state which, although 
quite unofficial, became the hereditary prize of his de- 
scendants. In the thirteenth century the citizens of 
Florence had founded a republic of a curious plutocratic 
type. Tired of continuous struggles between Ghibelline 
and Guelfic barons, and of the tyranny of whichever party 
was at the moment supreme, on the news of the Sicilian 
Vespers the citizens rose against the nobles and frightened 
them into agreeing to a new constitution. A new magis- 
tracy was set up, called the * Priori delle Arti.' This was 
composed, at first, of three magistrates, but soon afterwards 
of six, chosen from the seven greater guilds (arti maggiori). 
They formed the executive power or signory ; but they only 
held office for two months at a time, and could not be 
re-elected for two years. The seven greater guilds were the 
corporations of the cloth merchants, woolweavers, bankers, 
silk manufacturers, physicians, furriers and lawyers. 
There soon appeared some sixteen other guilds [arti minori). 
Thus there became four distinct orders in the state. The 
grandi or nobles, the popolo grasso or members of the greater 
guilds, the popolo minuto or members of the lower guilds, 
and the ciompi or proletariat, who had no part in the 
making of government. 

Very soon the grandi were excluded from all political 
influence, and a special executive police magistrate or 



LORENZO DE' MEDICI 171 

gonfalonier was devised to enforce the ordinances against 
them, and to command the permanent pohce. Early in the 
fourteenth century it was found that owing to the custom 
of holding office for only two months the executive was weak. 
An additional council was accordingly set up of twelve 
buonuomini — two men elected for each district who held 
office for six months. To avoid faction fights, elections 
were no longer conducted by a show of hands, but by lot. 
A squittinio or scrutiny of the names of all eligible citizens 
was held every two years : the names thus elected were 
placed in a bag and a draw took place every two months. 
The squittinio was carried out by a committee of the 
signory for the time being and the council of the greater 
guilds and other influential citizens. Thus the party that 
was in power at the squittinio, by rejecting the names of 
its opponents, could practically control the state for the 
next two years. But to provide against oppression, there 
was an authorised form of coup d'etat, whereby a parliament 
or meeting of all the citizens could elect a halia or com- 
mittee to reorganise the constitution. 

As might be expected the oligarchy of the popolo grasso 
became closer and closer ; one of the favourite devices of 
the family or group of families in power being to select the 
names from the bag, instead of drawing them by lot. It 
is as the champion of the people that the Medici first appear 
in the pages of history ; in 1378, during the gonfaloniership 
of Salvestro de' Medici, a revolution was effected whereby 
the ciompi gained some small power by the formation of 
new guilds of artisans, and the popolo minuto became 
eligible for the position of priori delle arti. Salvestro 's 
descendants gradually built up for themselves an enormous 
fortune as bankers. In 143 1, one of his collateral descend- 
ants, Giovanni, was drawn as gonfalonier. He was a well- 
known opponent of the oligarchy. His son Cosmo was 
more ambitious and less cautious than his father, and in 



172 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

consequence in 1433 suffered banishment at the hands of 
the oHgarchy under Rinaldo degh Albizzi. The ill success 
of Albizzi's war against Milan gave the citizens an oppor- 
tunity of recalling Cosmo ; and from October 6th, 1434, 
the day of his return, for the next three centuries the history 
of the Medici became the history of Florence. 

Cosmo never forgot that he owed his position to his 
championship of the people. He was careful not to obtrude 
his power or that of his family. While he used the same 
means — notably the arbitrary allocation of the income tax 
— to rid himself of his opponents, he constantly conciliated 
the citizens at large by transferring families from the lower 
guilds into the greater. He further strengthened his 
position by making the balia or revolutionary committee 
practically paramount, and by arranging that the scrutiny 
should be conducted by his adherents and the drawing by 
lot abolished. Cosmo invariably laid the odium of any 
unpopular act on the shoulders of his subordinates. His 
foreign policy brought peace and honour to Florence. 
His influence as a banker was so great that he was courted 
by all the rulers of the Italian states, and even by the 
king of France. In 1447, on the death of the last Visconti, 
he stepped in to save Lombardy from Venice. In 1460, 
on the death of Alfonso v. of Naples, he supported the 
Angevin claim to Naples and induced Francesco Sforza, 
Duke of Milan, to do the same. Then he founded the triple 
alliance of Naples, Milan and Florence, which secured the 
equilibrium of Italy for the next thirty years. He also 
added enormously to the prestige of Florence by his 
patronage of the new learning. 

Piero, his son, had poor health ; he shared the family's 
literary and artistic capacity, but not its political ability ; 
he is best known as the father of Lorenzo the Magnificent. 
Lorenzo's character was most carefully supervised at first 
by Gentilo d'Urbino, afterwards Bishop of Arezzo, and 



LORENZO DE' MEDICI 173 

later by Cristoforo Landino, the professor of poetry and 
rhetoric at Florence. John Argysopoulos was his instructor 
in Greek, and under this distinguished teacher he learned 
ethics and the philosophy of Aristotle. The doctrines of 
Plato he imbibed from Marsilio Ficino, who had been 
especially trained in the study of that great master, thanks 
to Cosmo, who designed him as the first instructor for the 
new academy he was founding. 

Brought thus in contact, from his early youth, with the 
leaders of the new learning, Lorenzo had much in his favour. 
He was blessed also with a retentive memory, a quickness of 
apprehension, and a vigour of intellect with which few are 
endowed. He had an exquisite taste ; no one felt greater 
delight in poetry, music, and the fine arts. But his vivacity 
of temper and his levity too often hurried him into extremes, 
and his own writings were often marred by a licentiousness 
which is in striking contrast to the seriousness of the rest of 
his work. His instructors did not neglect the development 
of his body. As a young man he was noted for his physical 
prowess. He was a fine swordsman, a good horseman, and 
fond of hawking and all country pursuits. Unfortunately, 
his health was never good, and he very early developed 
gouty tendencies which were responsible for his death 
when but little past his prime. 

Lorenzo was but sixteen years old when his grandfather 
Cosmo died, and the necessities of the situation at once 
hurried him into pubhc life. It was clear that a reaction 
was about to set in. The party of the Medici was on the 
eve of a great split, and Piero had neither the health nor 
the ability to control the situation. The anti-Medici party 
received the name of the Mountain, as the great palace of 
Lucca Pitti, its leader, was built on the hill of San Giorgio ; 
while the Medici were called the Plain, as their residence 
stood on the level ground to the north of the Arno. 

In 1465, the party of the Mountain demanded the 



174 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

abolition of the revolutionary halia and the restoration of 
the method of fiUing offices by lot. Piero very wisely did 
not oppose these proposals, which became law. But thanks 
to dissension among the leaders of the Mountain little else 
was effected in the way of constitutional change. In the 
following year the party of the Mountain put themselves 
in the wrong. Seeking for other means to destroy the 
Medici, they entered into secret negotiations with Venice. 
The Venetians had never forgotten the part played by the 
Medici in the establishment of the Sforza dukes, which had 
hindered the expansion of Venice in Lombardy. But 
they were too cautious to commit themselves to an alliance 
with a new faction. With a war with Turkey on their 
hands they had no desire to add one with Milan and 
Florence. They accordingly refused to promise more 
than that, if Piero was quietly assassinated, a body of 
condottieri in the pay of Venice should be at hand to aid 
the conspirators. 

Piero meanwhile had not been idle. He had secretly 
taken steps to sound his allies. Lorenzo had been sent to 
Pisa to meet Frederick, son of Ferrante, King of Naples, 
who was escorting Ippoleto, daughter of Francesco Sforza, 
to Naples to marry his brother Alfonso, Duke of Calabria. 
In the following year Lorenzo visited Paul ii., and after- 
wards proceeded through Bologna and Ferrara to Venice, 
and thence to Milan. The death of Francesco Sforza and 
the half-guessed schemes of the Mountain still caused Piero 
great uneasiness. He accordingly despatched Lorenzo to 
Naples to interview Ferrante with the view of tightening the 
strings of the alliance between Florence, Milan and Naples. 
Scarcely had Lorenzo returned home, after successfully 
carrying out his mission, when the storm burst. Piero and 
Lorenzo were at Careggi, their country villa, when news 
arrived that the condottieri in Venetian pay under Ercolo 
d'Este were advancing on Pistoia. Lorenzo started off 



LORENZO DE' MEDICI 175 

first for Florence, his father following in a litter. On the 
road Lorenzo found bands of armed men. Fearing a con- 
spiracy he sent back word to warn his father to leave the 
main road and enter Florence by a circuitous route. Mean- 
while, he told all who asked him that his father was following 
close behind. By this promptitude he probably saved both 
their lives, for the assassins would no doubt have made 
short work of him once they had despatched his father. 

It seemed as if civil war could not be averted. The 
partisans of the Mountain garrisoned the Pitti palace with 
two hundred men, while Piero sent off to Milan for help, and 
brought in armed peasants from the Medici estates. 
Fortune, however, showed herself on the side of the Medici. 
The priori and gonfalonier, drawn in August, belonged to 
their party, and Galeazzo Maria Sforza sent a reinforcement 
of two thousand troops. Accordingly, in September the 
Medici, after carefully occupying aU entrances to the 
Piazza with their troops, summoned the people to a parlia- 
ment by ringing the great bell. Having thus secured a 
packed assembly, they had no difficulty in getting a halia 
appointed of their own friends and arranging that, for the 
next ten years, the drawing for officers should be by 
selection and not by lot. 

Lucca Pitti made his peace with the Medici; but Neroni, 
Acciaiuolo and Niccolo Soderini, the other leaders of the 
Mountain, were banished. Soderini made off to Venice, 
wher-e he proceeded to scheme against his country. He 
was so far successful that in the spring of the next year, 
1467, a force was despatched against Florence under 
Bartolommeo Coleone, Ercolo d'Este, and some of the 
smaller princes of the Romagna. Neapolitan and Milanese 
troops came to the aid of Florence, and for the next year 
and a half there were skirmishes and military promenades, 
the condottieri preferring strategy to battle. Neither side 
gained any advantage, but all that Florence desired was 



176 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

to keep out the exiles. At last in 1468 the malcontents 
saw that they could effect nothing and, thanks to the good 
offices of Paul ii., peace was declared. 

June of the year following the peace saw Lorenzo's 
marriage. Up till now the Medici had been content to 
seek their brides among their compatriots. But by now, 
though officially private citizens, their wealth and power 
had placed them in the princely rank. Lorenzo found his 
bride in Clarice, a daughter of the great Roman house of 
the Orsini. It was no love match ; if we are to believe his 
poems Lorenzo's heart desired another. In his Ricordi 
he bluntly says he took this lady to wife, ' or rather, she was 
given to me.' Be that as it may, he was on the whole 
faithful to her, and their married life seems to have been 
happy. 

Six months after the marriage Piero died, on December 
3rd, 1469. Lorenzo at once stepped into his father's 
place. He was as yet not twenty-one, and therefore below 
the legal age for the holding of any of the offices of the 
republic. This did not really affect the situation, for, as 
we have already said, neither Cosmo nor Piero made any 
attempt to secure office for themselves ; they were content 
so to manipulate the elections that the magistracies were 
held by their friends. Still, as emphasising their loyalty 
to their new head, the principal citizens held an informal 
meeting at the instigation of Tommaso Soderini, Niccolo's 
brother, who had always stood firm by the Medici, -and 
invited Lorenzo to exercise the power wielded by Cosmo and 
Piero. Lorenzo, with that cunning dissimulation which 
had served his family so well and so often crowned their 
ambitions, modestly refused, but ultimately of course 
allowed himself to be persuaded. 

Once in the saddle Lorenzo showed that his ambition 
was greater than that either of his father or grandfather. 
Like them he conciliated the populace with splendid 



LORENZO DE' MEDICI 177 

spectacles ; he encouraged literature and art ■ and his palace 
was thrown open to all the men of learning of the day. 
But while he was hail-fellow-well-met with teachers, artists 
and poets, he seemed to stand more aloof from the rest of 
the populace than his predecessors had done. The retinue 
of followers who always escorted him was more insolent 
and more numerous. In all but name he played the prince. 
The first two years of what we may call his reign were 
marked by a tightening of the reins. The government 
became more oligarchical, more easily manipulated by his 
creatures. The legislative functions of the old councils 
were done away with. A permanent body of his adherents 
were entrusted with the duty of filling the bags. The 
result was to narrow down the number of families who 
could hold office. This, of course, produced a great deal of 
dissatisfaction. 

Lorenzo had not yet learned his lesson. He thought that 
he could afford to despise his opponents at home, and at the 
same time strike out for himself a new line of policy abroad. 
The old alliance between Naples, Milan and Florence had 
preserved the equilibrium in Italy. But Lorenzo dreamed 
that if he could manipulate an alliance between Florence, 
Venice, and the Papacy he might become the arbiter of the 
destinies of all the Italian states. With this object in view, 
in 1471, he went in person to congratulate Sixtus iv. on his 
elevation to the papal throne. At the same time he com- 
menced negotiations which ended in that year in an 
alliance between Venice, Milan and Florence. 

Lorenzo, unfortunately, had neglected to take into 
consideration the designs of the new pope, who brought 
nepotism to a fine art ; the timidity of his old ally Ferrante 
of Naples ; and the uncertainty of life. In 1476, Galeazzo 
Maria Sforza died; still, for the moment, however, all 
seemed well. The pope appointed Lorenzo his receiver of 
papal revenues, and confirmed his banking privileges at 

M 



178 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

Rome. But Sixtus' design in conciliating Lorenzo was 
to obtain large sums of money to spend in purchasing 
territories for his numerous nephews. Lorenzo, however, 
refused to assist him in this scheme, and angered him 
especially by refusing to find the money to purchase Imola 
for Girolamo Riario, his favourite nephew. Meanwhile, 
Ferrante in his isolation was seeking support from the 
pope. The next stage in the proceedings was that as 
Lorenzo would not find the money, the pope took away 
his receiver generalship and gave it to the Pazzi, the foes 
of the Medici. Further, to annoy Lorenzo, he made 
Francesco Salviati Archbishop of Pisa without consulting 
him. Thereon the Florentines refused to allow the arch- 
bishop to be inducted, and took steps to thwart the pope's 
provision for his nephews in Romagna. 

The Pazzi and Sixtus' nephews determined to end this 
situation. Francesco Pazzi and Girolamo Riario put 
their heads together and formed a conspiracy to remove 
Lorenzo and his brother Giuliano. The pope, the king 
of Naples, and the heads of the families of the Pazzi and 
Salviati were all privy to the plot. The pope and the 
king of Naples were to take no part in the arrangement 
of the details, but if the conspirators were successful 
they were to aid with armed force in overawing the 
Florentines. There was no strong opposition to the 
Medici in Florence itself, and accordingly Girolamo and 
his confederates could think of no better way of getting 
rid of the brothers than by assassination — the favourite 
political weapon of Italian revolutionaries in all ages. A 
great number of people were implicated, but so well was 
the secret kept that no suspicion of the plot leaked out. 

Cardinal Rafaello Riario, a grandnephew of the pope, 
was directed to proceed to Florence to represent the papal 
authority during the confusion that was bound to follow 
the murder. Some two thousand condottieri were ordered 



LORENZO DE' MEDICI 179 

to drift by different routes into the city. The actual cut- 
throats were under the command of Giovanni Battesta 
da Montesecco : their duties were to murder the brothers 
and to seize the magistrates. The original plan was to 
carry out the murder at Fiesole ; but the plot failed owing 
to the illness of Giuliano, which kept him in Florence. It 
was then determined to commit the crime at the moment 
of the elevation of the Host on the following Sunday in 
the church of the Reparata, since called Santa Maria del 
Fiore. The young cardinal was ordered to express a 
desire to attend divine service at the Reparata on Sunday, 
April 26th, 1478. Lorenzo at once signified that he and 
his brother also would attend service to do honour to the 
cardinal. Francesco Pazzi had been selected to drive the 
dagger into Giuliano, and Montesecco to deal with Lorenzo. 
But Montesecco had the conscience of the age ; he was 
quite ready to commit murder, but he shrank from the 
idea of polluting God's house by such a crime. Two 
priests, however, were found who had no such scruples. 
Montesecco's hesitation caused the failure of the plot. 
At the appointed moment Francesco Pazzi drove the 
dagger into Giuliano's heart. The priests, not so expert, 
only wounded Lorenzo, who, aided by his friends, fought 
his way into the sacristy. Immediately, the news of his 
danger spread through the town, and soon a band of 
young nobles had surrounded their leader. Meanwhile, 
Archbishop Salviati, lacking news, had hesitated to capture 
the gonfalonier and the priors. The people rose to arms 
with shouts for the Medici, and the gonfalonier received 
the news of the death of Giuliano and the attempted 
murder of Lorenzo. With the concurrence of the other 
councillors he administered speedy justice. Francesco 
Pazzi, the archbishop, and several of the leading con- 
spirators were hanged from the window of the palace. 
A systematic search was organised, and a like fate befell 



i8o LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

all who were captured. Few indeed escaped. Montesecco 
was captured and, before he died, gave evidence against 
the pope. Bernardo Bandini, another of the ruffians, 
fled from Italy to Constantinople. But he could not 
escape the vengeance of the Medici. The sultan, 
Mohammed ii., handed him over to their agents, and he 
shared the fate of his fellow conspirators. 

The failure of the conspiracy, and especially the death 
of Giuliano, who was of a much sweeter disposition and 
infinitely more popular, did much to increase Lorenzo's 
prestige. This was fortunate, for Florence was now faced 
by a coalition which all but brought her to her knees, and 
this misfortune was entirely due to Lorenzo's new foreign 
policy. The king of Naples was furious at the aUiance 
between Milan, Venice and Florence, which left him in 
dangerous isolation. Sixtus was equally enraged at the 
failure of the conspiracy, and at the summary execution 
of Archbishop Salviati, his papal receiver-general. It 
needed but little incitement from Girolamo Riario to 
cause him to demand the banishment of Lorenzo, in atone- 
ment for the death of the archbishop and the two priests. 
On the Florentines refusing, the pope at once declared war ; 
and his ally, the king of Naples, gladly sent him troops. 
The papal and Neapolitan forces gained a convenient base 
by the surrender of Siena. But the Florentines, with 
reinforcements from Venice and Milan, offered a stout 
resistance to any further advance. The Medici built 
great hopes on France, but Louis xi. did nothing except 
to despatch Philip de Commines to try to negotiate. Still 
the campaign of 1478 closed most successfully for the 
Florentines. But in the following year their fortunes were 
brought low. Ferrante, King of Naples, organised a 
revolution in Milan, which substituted the rule of Ludovico 
Sforza for Bona of Savoy. This caused the temporary 
withdrawal of the Milanese reinforcements. Meanwhile, 



LORENZO DE' MEDICI i8i 

the Turks were attacking Scutari, some say by the wily 
Ferrante's suggestion, so Venice also had to recall her 
troops. Fortune seemed to have deserted the city. 
Lorenzo went in person to the front, where his presence 
added fresh courage to the army, but not military skill. 
Meanwhile, the plague broke out in the city, and the enemy 
captured Poggio Imperiale, the fortress which covered the 
city by the way of the Val d'Elsa. It was only the approach 
of winter, and the traditional lack of initiative in the 
tactics of the enemy, which saved the city. 

Lorenzo saw that the strain had almost reached the 
breaking point. Already there were ominous murmurs 
against his policy. Something had to be done to dissolve 
the coalition. The pope was implacable, but Ferrante 
had previously been his personal friend. Accordingly, in 
December 1479, he sent his family for safety to Pistoia, 
and himself set out for Naples to interview the king. 
The undertaking appeared hazardous, for Ferrante had 
a reputation for cruelty and lack of honour, but Lorenzo 
knew his man. His personality once again captivated the 
king, who listened to his arguments and recognised their 
worth. The pope cared for nothing but to improve the 
fortunes of his nephews. Naples was always in danger 
of a revival of the Angevin claims. The alliance with 
Florence and Milan was the surest bulwark against France. 

Early in 1480, Lorenzo returned to Florence with a 
treaty of peace. It was not a glorious one, but his friends 
covered the defects by magnifying the dangers he had 
run in visiting Ferrante. The Florentines had to surrender 
some of the southern districts to Siena, and to acquiesce 
in the retention by Genoa of Sarzana, their northern fortress, 
while they left their friends in Romagna to the mercy of 
the pope. Unfortunately, the allies were in no hurry to 
evacuate the country, and the irritation was once again 
gaining head against the Medici, when, luckily, the news 



i82 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

arrived that the Turks had occupied Otranto. At such 
a crisis even Sixtus iv. was bound to give up his longing 
for revenge, and the papal and Neapolitan troops hurried 
south. 

Lorenzo seized the occasion of the rejoicings, which 
followed the withdrawal of the allies, to carry out a con- 
stitutional change. Thanks to his regained popularity, 
and to the fact that the government offices were all in the 
hands of his friends, these measures were carried out in 
a constitutional way through the ordinary councils. The 
chief result was that all power was concentrated in the 
hands of a senate of seventy, composed of his friends. 
The senators sat for life. From the senate two committees 
were drawn, an Otto di Pratica for war and an Otto di 
Balia for police. The old magistracies and councils sur- 
vived, and were useful for rewarding friends and flattering 
waverers, but they had little or no power. It was only 
natural that the senate and its two standing committees 
should override the officials, who were merely elected for 
two months. 

Secure at home, Lorenzo turned his attention to foreign 
politics. His great banking connection, his successful 
administration at home, and the prestige which he gained 
as the foremost patron of letters, made him the most con- 
spicuous politician of the day. No one knew better how 
weak Italy really was, how helpless in the face of a foreign 
enemy. This was ever at the back of his mind, and he 
now saw the wisdom of his grandfather's policy. Venice he 
recognised as the aggressor, the state which seemingly had 
most to gain and least to lose from foreign intervention. 
Accordingly, for the rest of his life, he did his best to 
strengthen the old league between Florence, Milan and 
Naples. He threw himself heart and soul into the war 
against Venice in 1482, when that city attempted to 
wrest Ferrara from the house of Este. He was deeply 



LORENZO DE' MEDICI 183 

chagrined when, in 1484, the deposition of Ludovico 
Sforza saved her from just punishment and brought the 
war to an end. 

In 1485 appeared the danger which he always dreaded. 
In that year the NeapoHtan rebels, backed up by the new 
pope, Innocent viii., appealed to France for aid against 
Ferrante. The appeal was not made to Charles viii. but 
to Rene of Lorraine. This was fortunate, as Lorenzo was 
thus able to throw his influence on to the side of Ferrante 
without disturbing his relations with France. He used 
the turmoil which ensued to regain for Florence Siena and 
the fortress of Sarzana, and to annex the neighbouring 
fortresses of Pietrasanta and Sarzanella, thus securing a 
complete bulwark for his state along the ridge of the 
Apennines. For the time the danger of foreign interven- 
tion was laid, but it soon appeared again. Ludovico 
Sforza, the real ruler of Milan, was plotting to depose his 
nephew, who was married to Ferrante's granddaughter. 
It required all Lorenzo's tact and ability to prevent a 
complete rupture between Milan and Naples. Unfortu- 
nately for Italy, Lorenzo died in 1492, and two years later 
the Sforzas summoned France to aid them against Naples. 
It is indeed doubtful, even if Lorenzo had lived, whether 
he could have averted this catastrophe, but we may pre- 
sume that he certainly would not have complicated the 
situation by pusillanimity and incompetence, as his son 
Piero did. 

Nothing, perhaps, is more striking than the multiplicity 
of interests which went to make up Lorenzo's life. We 
have briefly reviewed his acts as a statesman. We have 
now to regard him as a merchant prince and also as a man 
of letters. The sources of the wealth of the Medici were 
numerous. In addition to a banking interest which had 
branches in nearly all the important states of Italy and also 
in France, Lorenzo was head of what we should now call a 



i84 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

firm, which dealt largely in the spice trade and was deeply 
engaged in the carrying of all sorts of eastern merchandise 
from Alexandria to Leghorn. The Medici also made a 
speciality of mining for alum in Italy ; for one alum mine 
in Roman territory they paid as much as one hundred 
thousand florins a year to the papal exchequer. Lorenzo 
further had extensive farms which he had inherited at 
Poggio-Cajano, Volterra and Caffagiolo. He expended a 
great deal of care on these estates, and they returned him a 
very high profit. He had considerable interest in the silk, 
linen, and woollen manufactories in Florence, whose products 
were famous over Europe. It was very largely owing to 
his resources and credit that Florence was able to subsidise 
the soldiers who fought for her against the pope and the 
king of Naples, and in the war on behalf of Ferrara. After 
the wars were over it was entirely owing to his ability that 
the finances of the state were re-established on a sound 
footing. But the strain of supervising these vast interests 
was so great, that in his later years he gradually relinquished 
his commercial speculations, and concentrated aU his efforts 
on improving the possibilities of his properties ; he especi- 
ally paid attention to mulberry growing, whereby he hoped 
to decrease the price of silk. 

But it is as a man of letters and a patron of learning 
that his fame is best known. Once he had sown his wild 
oats, his chief relaxation from the cares of business and of 
state was the intercourse with the great minds of the day. 
At his palace at Florence or his villa at Poggio-Cajano he 
kept open house. Both were perfect museums, contain- 
ing the most famous manuscripts, sculptures, coins and 
antiquities of every description. While he thus collected 
around him the finest objects of art, he was not unmindful 
of the necessity of providing for the training of artists and 
men of letters. In 1471 he re-established the academy at 
Pisa which had fallen into decay, and presented that 



LORENZO DE' MEDICI 185 

institution with a handsome annuity in addition to the 
annual grant from the state. The Pisan Academy re- 
stricted its attention to Latin. In 1479 he re-estabHshed 
the Academy in Florence which his grandfather had 
founded. He endowed it handsomely and procured 
Demetrius Chalcondylas as professor. Englishmen owe 
him no small debt of gratitude, for it was at Florence that 
William Grocin and Thomas Linacre learned their Greek 
which they taught with such success at Oxford and else- 
where. 

Thanks to Lorenzo's munificence the churches and public 
buildings of Florence became possessed of pictures by 
Antonio PoUajuolo, Era Lippo Lippi, Sandro Botticelli and 
Luca Signorelli, the famous group of artists who, by the 
study of perspective, anatomy and shading, and by the 
introduction of oil colours were creating a revolution in the 
painter's art. Nor must we forget that it was by his 
generosity that Michael Angelo, perhaps the most famous 
of painters and sculptors, received the assistance necessary 
to complete his artistic training. For Lorenzo, with the 
desire to improve the struggling artists of the day and to 
provide them with the means of studying the most perfect 
works of art in existence, turned his gardens, which lay 
beside the monastery of San Marco, into an art school. 
He furnished the buildings, gardens and avenues with 
statues, busts, and other pieces of ancient workmanship, and 
appointed as superintendent the sculptor Bertoldo, the 
favourite pupil of Donatello. If the school had produced 
no other artist than Michael Angelo it would have more 
than justified its existence, for, as a French artist of the day 
exclaimed, ' I have seen Michael Angelo ; he is terrific' 

Building was one of Lorenzo's delights, and Florence 
owes to him many of her noblest structures. The Duke of 
Milan and the King of Naples sent to ask his assistance for 
the erection of their palaces. Among the public works 



i86 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

which he provided at Florence were the monastery of 
San Gallo, the fortifications of Poggio Imperiale, the com- 
pletion of the church of San Lorenzo, and the monastery 
at Fiesole commenced by Brunelleschi. 

His private friends formed a brilliant band. Marsilio 
Ficino was the great exponent of the doctrines of Plato. 
Giovanni Pico della Mirandola spent his short life of thirty- 
one years in the attempt to harmonise the philosophy of 
the ancients with the religion of Christ. Leo Battista 
Alberti was a master of both Italian and Latin literature, 
and at the same time an enthusiastic musician and painter. 
Michael Angelo we have already mentioned. He first 
aroused the attention of Lorenzo by his poetic gifts. 
Politian was tutor of Lorenzo's children, and professor 
of Greek and Latin at Florence ; he was known from his 
precocity as Homencus juvenis, and celebrated no less for 
his critical ability than for his comprehensive genius and 
rhetorical ability ; his personality did more for the age 
than his published Latin letters, for by his influence he 
inspired others to emulate himself. Cristoforo Landino 
was a master of Ciceronian Latin ; he is remembered for 
his Disputationes Camaldunenses. 

In the introduction to this work Landino has given us a 
glimpse of Lorenzo with his literar}^ friends. The scene is 
laid at the monastery of Camaldoli. There were present 
Mariotto, the abbot of the monastery, Lorenzo and his 
brother Giuliano, Leo Battista Alberti, Marsilio Ficino, 
Landino and others. He relates how, after performing 
their devotions, the whole party proceeded every morning 
for three or four days to spend the day in the open air on 
the hills under a magnificent beech-tree near a spring. 
How the conversation turned on the comparative merits 
of the active life of a citizen and the contemplative life of a 
philosopher or monk. How Alberti argued in favour of 
the contemplative life, because contemplation alone can 



LORENZO DE' MEDICI 187 

constitute the essence of human happiness, also because 
without contemplation the statesman can effect nothing, 
' For it is impossible that any person should rightly direct 
the affairs of the republic, unless he has previously estab- 
lished in himself virtuous habits, and enhghtened his 
understanding with that knowledge which will enable him 
to discern why he is called into existence, what is due to 
others, and what to himself.' Lorenzo would not agree that 
perfection of nature could only be obtained by abstraction 
from worldly pursuits ; he argued that there should be no 
essential difference between the active and the contempla- 
tive life, but that they should mutually assist each other. 
The three remaining days of this holiday were spent in 
discussing Virgil, and the friends agreed that Virgil's poetry 
is allegorical, and that in it are to be discovered the truths 
of the Platonic doctrine. 

But Lorenzo was not merely a patron of art and letters, 
he himself had all the versatility of his friends. He spent 
much time in the criticism of Dante, and at an early period 
produced many sonnets to his mistress, after the manner of 
Petrarch. He had the gift of interpreting the human 
passion by means of personification, a deft touch for the 
introduction of poetic comparison, and a genius for descrip- 
tion. Nor did he confine his attention to sonnets : lyrics 
and satires flowed from his pen, poems on hawking, on 
morals, on things sacred ; he even aspired to tragedy. 
Crescimbeni, the historian of Tuscan poetry, says of him, 
* Amidst the thickest gloom of that barbarism which had 
spread itself throughout Italy, he exhibited, whilst yet but 
a youth, a simplicity of style, a purity of language, a 
happiness of versification, a propensity of poetical ornament, 
and a fullness of sentiment, which recalled once more the 
graces and sweetness of Petrarca.' 

Lorenzo, as we have said before, was the typical product 
of the Renaissance. Nothing perhaps better illustrates 



i88 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

this than his attitude towards the Church and reHgion. 
The Church he regarded mainly as an organ of government, 
as part of the political system of Italy. It was for this 
reason that he saw nothing incongruous in using his influence 
with the pope to get his second son Giovanni created a 
cardinal at the age of thirteen. It seemed to him in no way 
a scandal, for he wrote, * I have educated him for the 
priesthood, and shall closely attend to his learning and his 
manners, so that he may not disgrace his profession.' 
We still possess the detailed instructions which he prepared 
for the young cardinal on his departure to Rome to take up 
his office. He pointed out to him that he could only repay 
God for his early elevation by * a pious, chaste, and exem- 
plary life.' He warned him against the vices of many of 
his fellow cardinals. He commanded him to be discreet 
and humble, and gave him directions as to his clothing and 
establishment, as to his method of business, and insisted 
on the necessity of taking exercise. In the middle of this 
advice came the following sentence pregnant of the whole 
matter. ' You are now devoted to God and the Church, 
on which account you ought to aim at being a good ecclesi- 
astic ; and to show that you prefer the honour and state of 
the Church, and of the apostolic see, to every other considera- 
tion. Nor, while you keep this in view, will it be difficult 
for you to favour your family and native place. On the 
contrary, you should be the link to bind this city close to 
the Church and our family with the city ; and although it 
may be impossible to foresee what accidents may happen, 
yet I doubt not that this may be done with equal advantage 
to all : observing, however, that you are always to prefer 
the interests of the Church.* 

We cannot wonder, therefore, that Savonarola, with his 
hatred of art, his overpowering sense of sin, and his con- 
viction of the wickedness of the world, regarded Lorenzo 
as the type of all the evil of the day. And yet it was Lorenzo 



LORENZO DE' MEDICI 189 

himself who called Savonarola to Florence to the abbotship 
of the monastery of San Marco, the peculiar institution of 
the Medici. Savonarola himself attended Lorenzo on his 
death-bed, and exhorted him to remain firm in the Catholic 
faith. He reminded him that he should bear his death 
with fortitude. ' With cheerfulness,' replied Lorenzo, 
' if it be God's will.' Thereon, after giving him the bene- 
diction, he departed, and soon after Lorenzo passed away 
surrounded by his friends. 

The life of Lorenzo is a most fascinating study from its 
many-sidedness. The student of history can speculate as 
to his influence on the politics of his day, and on how far his 
death led to the overthrow of the system he represented. 
The statesman finds himself confronted with constitutional 
questions of the greatest interest, notably the influence of 
personality in politics. The student of ethics is introduced 
to one of the great crises in the evolution of morals. The 
artist traces in his career the growth of the science of archi- 
tecture, sculpture, mosaics and painting. The man of 
letters is fascinated with his poetic genius, his encourage- 
ment of learning, and his famous librar}^ The theologian 
sees in his influence one of the factors which contributed 
to the Reformation ; while the man of business can find 
much food for reflection in the examination of his economic, 
agricultural, commercial, and banking pursuits. In a 
word, there are few departments of life in which, for better 
or for worse, the influence of Lorenzo the Magnificent did 
not make itself felt. 



CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS 

Nothing has contributed more to the development of 
modern civiHsation than the discovery of the New World 
at the close of the fifteenth century, and no task is more 
fascinating than tracing the causes which led to this dis- 
covery. The search leads us to the beginnings of civilisa- 
tion itself. We have to study the history of the Erythraeans 
v/ho ploughed the Red Sea long before the Phoenicians 
and Greeks ventured to cross the Mediterranean. The 
success of the Greeks and Phoenicians prepared the way 
for the Carthaginians. By the time Carthage fell before 
the power of Rome, all the coasts of southern Europe, 
Asia, North Africa, and perhaps even the east coast of 
Africa as far as the Cape of Good Hope, had been dis- 
covered, and their approximate outlines had been fixed. 
On the Atlantic sea-board the islands from Thule (which 
some people think was Iceland) to the Azores had been 
visited. We read how Hanno and Hamilcar, the Cartha- 
ginians, penetrated west as far as the great sea of floating 
weed in the mid-Atlantic, which we call the Saragossa Sea. 
But with the fall of Carthage the spirit of naval adventure 
died. Rome was essentially a land power, and sought 
her entrance to the markets of the East by way of the Red 
Sea and the valley of the Euphrates. Thus it was that 
the knowledge gained by the Carthaginians began to fade 
away, only to reappear in the speculations of philosophers 
like Seneca, or to be revived in fabulous form in the tales 
of Diodorus the Sicihan. 

Originally the Greeks had taught that the earth was 

190 



CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS 191 

a plane, but gradually their views changed, and in the 
fourth century B.C. we find Aristotle and others demon- 
strating the rotundity of the earth by watching the shadow 
of the moon during an eclipse, and by noting the rising 
and setting of the heavenly bodies in different latitudes. 
In the third century B.C. Eratosthenes measured a degree 
of latitude, and in the next century Hipparchus estab- 
lished geographical positions. A century later still, that 
is in the second century B.C., Ptolemy drew up his cosmo- 
graphy, which became the acknowledged authority for 
many generations. 

The centuries succeeding the fall of the Roman Empire, 
as we have seen, were years of darkness and strife. It 
was not till the twelfth century that order and progress 
began to reappear in Europe. Then came the crusades, 
which naturally turned all those of an adventurous dis- 
position towards the East, first in the pursuit of the 
religious ideal and then for gain. The trade routes with 
the East were three in number: the first from Central 
Asia to the Black Sea, thence by Constantinople to the 
Mediterranean ; the second by the Persian Gulf and the 
valley of the Euphrates to Aleppo and the Levant ; and 
the third by the Red Sea to Cairo and Alexandria. The 
starting-point of the last two routes was Calicut in India, 
which was the depot of the trade between East and West. 
Thither came Chinese merchants, Malucca traders with 
the spoils of the spice islands, and the natives of India 
and Ceylon. At the European depots at Constantinople, 
Aleppo and Alexandria, the transport and distribution 
were in the hands of the Venetians and Genoese. 

While Europeans were thus confining their attention to 
the eastern trade, the Moors of Spain and northern Africa 
were carrying on a large caravan traffic with the negro 
tribes of the Soudan across the Sahara. By 1150 they 
knew that there lay a fertile and populous country south- 



192 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

west of the Sahara in the valley of the Senegal River, 
which we find marked as ' Bilad Ghana,' or ' the Land 
of Wealth,' in the map prepared by the Arab Edrisi for 
Roger II. of Sicily. To exploit ' Bilad Ghana ' became 
the object of the Portuguese, who were by geographical 
reasons excluded from the eastern commerce and from 
the continental trade in North Africa. 

The first object of the Portuguese was to secure slaves 
to cultivate the large tracts of Portugal and Spain devas- 
tated by the Moorish wars : with this object in view, in 
1415 they seized Ceuta from the Moors, which gave them 
a position on the Atlantic, whence they voyaged to the 
Canary Islands, and captured the Guanche natives. The 
moving spirit in the adventure was Dom Henrique of 
Portugal, known to us as Henry the Navigator. He was 
the third son of John i. by Philippa of Lancaster, sister 
of Henry iv. of England. Dom Henrique's aim was two- 
fold — to found a greater Portugal by colonising the Azores 
and the islands of the Madeira group lately rediscovered 
by the Genoese, and secondly to conquer ' Bilad Ghana,' 
and turn it into a dependency of Portugal administered 
by the military order of Jesus Christ To the reader of 
the present day Dom Henrique presents the curious com- 
bination of slave dealer and crusader ; that this did not 
seem illogical to his contemporaries we see from their 
chroniclers, who recount how the profit of one expedition 
was two hundred and sixteen slaves, of whom a fifth was 
assigned to Dom Henrique, * of which he had great joy 
because of their salvation, who otherwise would have been 
destined to perdition.' Henry himself never went further 
than Ceuta, but from his observatory at Sagres on Cape 
St. Vincent he eagerly superintended the departure and 
arrival of his fleets of adventurers, and devoted himself 
to the collection of maps and the study of geography. 
After nineteen years' steady effort the Portuguese adven- 



CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS 193 

turers at last reached the Senegal. Thereafter their 
advance was still slow, and by the time of Dom Henrique's 
death, in 1460, they had probably only reached the tenth 
parallel of northern latitude. Such was Dom Henrique's 
contribution to the age of discovery. We find no word 
about the circumnavigation of Africa or the idea of pene- 
trating to India. His aim seems to have been to effect 
a junction with the Abyssinians, or people of Prester John, 
by pushing up the Senegal, which he considered was the 
Western Nile, and had its source in a lake near the source 
of the Egyptian Nile. This done he hoped to be able to 
recover North Africa for Christianity. 

But before Dom Henrique's death an event had occurred, 
which gave an entirely new impetus to the Portuguese 
adventurers. On May 29th, 1453, Constantinople was 
conquered by the Turks. For a time Venice managed 
to come to an arrangement with the conquerors, whereby 
she still retained the distribution of the eastern trade. 
But as years went on the duties imposed by the Turks 
became heavier and heavier, and the trade more costly 
and dangerous. Thus it was that the adventurous captains 
of the Mediterranean began to consider the possibility of 
finding other routes to the East . Meanwhile, the discoveries 
of the Portuguese were causing wonder among the learned 
of the day. ' New lands, new races, new worlds, even 
new constellations had been dragged from darkness into 
the light of day.' The maps of Ptolemy were eagerly 
scanned, and men began to speculate as to the possibihty of 
reaching the East by saihng West. 

Christopher Columbus was born at Genoa somewhere 
between 1445-1447. His father was Domenico Columbus 
of Terra-Rossa, a weaver by trade, and his mother Susanna 
was the daughter of another silk-weaver from a neighbour- 
ing village. At the time of his eldest son's birth, Domenico 
was in fairly prosperous circumstances, and owned the 

N 



194 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

house, shop and garden which he occupied. Of Columbus' 
youth we know httle. From the letters and manuscripts 
he has left, we can see that he was a fair penman ; he could 
make a spirited sketch with a few strokes of the pencil, 
and had a considerable talent for drawing maps. For 
some short time, probably about 1460, he was at the 
University of Pavia, where he learned cosmography, 
astrology and geometry. 

Evidently the weaver's loom proved unattractive to 
the adventurous spirit w^ho was destined to find the New 
World, for at the age of fourteen we hear of him at sea. 
The red-haired, ruddy-complexioned youth had soon an 
intimate knowledge of the Mediterranean from the Pillars 
of Hercules to Aleppo. He eagerly listened to the tales 
of discovery of merchants from India, and of sailors who 
had traversed the unknown Atlantic. He probably passed 
the Golden Horn and visited the Black Sea depots, where 
the Genoese collected their Crimean trade, and Poti, the 
great centre port for the Indian goods brought down by 
the merchants of Georgia. Cabin boy, mariner and 
corsair, save for occasional visits to Genoa, he passed the 
next fourteen years of his life, between the years 1460 and 
1473, mainly in navigating the Mediterranean. He seems 
to have taken service with Niccolo Columbus, a famous 
corsair, who, though bearing the same name, was no 
relation. Of this period we get a glimpse in a letter written 
by Christopher himself, in 1495, from Hispaniola. ' It 
happened to me that King Rene, whom God has taken 
to himself, sent me to Tunis to take the gsilleon Ferdinandina, 
and when I got near the island of San Pietro off Sardinia, 
I heard that she had two ships and a long caracca in her 
company. This discomposed my men and they resolved 
to go no further, but to return to Marseilles for another 
ship and more men. I saw there was no going against 
their will without some contrivance, and seemed to give 



CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS 195 

way ; but then I turned the needle of the compass right 
round, and set sail when it was getting late ; and the next 
day at sunrise we fought off Cape Certegna (in Africa), 
though all the men had thought for certain that we were 
making homeward to Marseilles.' 

The career of a captain under Niccolo was not likely to 
be confined to the Mediterranean. We hear of Christopher 
serving with the famous corsair in the Atlantic. Niccolo 
was nominally working for King Louis of France, preying 
on the trade between England and Venice. Christopher 
must have fought up and down the English Channel, for 
we find from one of his letters from the New World that 
he had seen the harbours of England, ' though he never 
saw any harbours as good as those which he found in the 
West Indies.* In the year 1470 our hero was engaged 
in this semi-piratical warfare. With Niccolo he lay behind 
the promontory of Cape St. Vincent, the favourite lurking- 
place of the ' French pirates.' This time they were await- 
ing the Venetian fleet from Flanders. The fight that 
followed was fierce, lasting from matins to vespers. 
Christopher's ship engaged and grappled a Venetian. 
Both ships took fire, and there was nothing for it but to 
jump into the sea with the hope of being picked up. Our 
hero, * being an excellent swimmer and seeing himself 
about two leagues from land, laid hold of an oar which 
fortune offered him, and sometimes resting and some- 
times swimming, it pleased God, who was preserving him 
for greater ends, to give him strength to get to land.' 
This is the story in the words of his son Ferdinand, who 
doubtless often heard it from his father's lips : he con- 
cludes by adding, ' It was not far from Lisbon, where he 
knew that there were many Genoese, and he went there 
as fast as he could : and being recognised b}^ many friends, 
he was so courteously received and entertained, that he 
set up house and married a wife in that city.' 



196 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

Christopher was now about twenty-four years old : tall, 
large of limb, with a long face and aquiline nose, and 
cheeks 'neither large nor lean'; like many another Itahan 
of the north he must have possessed some strain of Teutonic 
blood, probably derived from a far-off Lombard ancestor, 
for his fresh complexion, bluish-grey eyes and red beard, 
which became grey before he was thirty, stamped him as 
belonging to a different race from the ordinary inhabitant 
of the Peninsula. A man with so fine a presence, with the 
reputation of being one of Niccolo Columbus' most dashing 
captains, with no doubt a good store of plunder well 
invested in Genoa, was likely to prove attractive to the 
female eye. The lady who became the wife of his choice 
was a certain Philippa Moniz, the daughter of Perestrello, 
one of Dom Henrique's explorers. Perestrello, like 
Christopher, was a Lombard — descended from a noble 
family of Piacenza — whose father had migrated to Portugal, 
drawn thither by the love of maritime adventure. 
Philippa's father had died in 1457 as hereditary governor 
of Porto Santo, and had been succeeded as governor by 
his son-in-law Pedro Correo, husband of Phihppa's sister, 
' Queen Iseult,' at Porto Santo. Philippa herself had an 
estate on that island, which is the most northern of the 
Madeira group. Hence by his marriage Christopher was 
at once introduced to all the Portuguese adventurers. 

Although Columbus became domiciled in Portugal in 
1470, we know that he was occasionally in Italy up to 
1473, after which year his name is no longer found among 
the notarial records at Savona. Perhaps it was in this 
year that he married Donna Philippa and made Portugal 
his adopted country. For the next fourteen years we 
have no direct record of his life. He seems to have 
adopted the profession of map and chart drawer, but to 
have varied it at least with one voyage to the far north, 
and a residence of some considerable time at Porto Santo. 



CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS 197 

during which he made voyages to the Guinea coast. 
The evidence for the Icelandic voyage is based on an 
ItaHan copy of the history written by his son Ferdinand. 
' I was saiHng in February 1477, a hundred leagues 
beyond the island of Thule, whereof the southern part 
is distant from the equator seventy-three degrees and 
not sixty-three as some would have it : and it does not 
lie within Ptolemy's westernmost meridian, but is much 
further out to the westward : and to this island, which is 
as large as England, the EngHsh go with their merchandise, 
especially the men of Bristol. And at the time I went 
the sea was not frozen, but it rose in some places twenty- 
six ells high, and then fell again as much/ This raises 
at once the question of whether Columbus, when in Iceland, 
heard of the Heimskringla, or the adventures of Eric the 
Red, and the discovery of Greenland and Vinland, and 
discoursed with Bishop Magnus who possessed at that 
moment the Codex Flateyensis, containing the written 
record of these Norse discoveries. But whether or no 
he ever went to Iceland, he must have known of these 
voyages, for the cartographers of the fifteenth century 
included Greenland in their charts, though they always 
showed it as a northern peninsula of Europe. 

The years spent at Porto Santo must have been the 
period during which Columbus meditated on his great 
adventure. Either there or in Portugal he made the 
acquaintance of Martin Behaim, the famous Nuremberger, 
who had married the daughter of the governor of Fayal, 
a small island of the Azores group. Behaim it was who 
had perfected the astrolabe, and invented a rough form 
of sextant which greatly assisted the mariners of the day in 
working out their reckonings. During this time Columbus 
probably met with a manuscript of the Imago Mundi 
(1410) by Pierre d'Ailly, for all his subsequent quotations 
from the ancients are borrowed from it. The Imago 



igS LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

Mundi was based on the Opus Majus (1267) of the EngHsh 
philosopher Roger Bacon. Thus it was that Columbus 
learned how, in the middle of the third century before 
Christ, Eratosthenes had by astronomical methods measured 
the extent of the earth's circumference, — how, a century 
later, Posidonius of Rhodes had reduced these measure- 
ments by a fifth (in which he was wrong, Eratosthenes' 
measurements being really not far out) . 

Columbus not only read but he criticised. He knew 
that the philosophers, arguing that as you went north 
it got colder and as you went south it got hotter, had 
come to the conclusion that in the north the cold made 
life impossible and in the south the heat. From his own 
knowledge he was aware that this was a fallacy, for he 
told his son, * I have been in the King of Portugal's 
fortress of St. George of the Gold Mine, and that lies right 
under the equator, so that it is not so uninhabitable as 
some would make out.' 

As we have said before, the success of the Portuguese 
in pushing down the coast of Africa gave a great impetus 
to the desire for discovery and to the scientific treatment 
of geography. The most famous savant of the day was 
an Italian, Toscanelli. In his opinion the circumference 
of the globe was only eighteen thousand miles, that is, 
six thousand short of what it really is. Columbus knew 
of Toscanelli's view. He also, like all his contemporaries, 
believed in the genuineness of the visions of Esdras. 
* Unto Leviathan Thou gavest the seventh part, namely, 
the ocean.' Further, Columbus accepted the estimate 
of Maximus of Tyre, that, from the eastern verge of Asia 
to the western verge of Europe, was a distance of fifteen 
hours, on the calculation of the division of the earth into 
twenty-four hours. The discovery of the Azores had 
pushed the limit of the known an hour further west. That 
is to say, by his calculation sixteen hours, or two-thirds 



CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS 199 

of the three hundred and sixty degrees of the earth's 
circumference, were now accounted for. This calcula- 
tion placed the Asiatic coast on the meridian of California, 
and reduced the globe by the breadth of the Pacific. As 
Columbus said, ' We can thus determine that India is 
even neighbouring to Spain and Africa.' 

While Columbus pondered over these calculations he 
became more and more convinced of the feasibility of 
reaching Asia by sailing due west from the Azores. His 
conjecture w^as confirmed by the wreckage which was 
occasionally washed up on those islands, branches of trees 
and seeds unknown to Europeans, and at least on one 
occasion a piece of curiously carved w^ood. When he was 
at Flores, Columbus was told of two drowned men, pro- 
bably Caribs, who had been picked up, with very broad 
faces, ' differing in aspect from Christians.' This evidence 
tended in his opinion to prove that there were inhabited 
lands west of Europe, probably islands off the coast of 
Asia, for all the cartographers of the day showed the 
imaginary coast of Asia as thickly dotted with islands, 
the most important of which was Cipango or Japan. Still, 
it was a mighty venture to sail out westward, whither 
many had gone before never to return; where, travellers 
said, lay the Sea of Darkness, the resort of the gorgons, 
of the men who wore their heads below their shoulders, 
and of other monsters. Moreover, there was this addi- 
tional problem. If the earth was round and the sea 
sloped down westwards, how would it be possible to sail 
home again uphill ? 

In spite of all these problematical difficulties, Columbus 
determined to put the adventure to the test. He entered 
into correspondence with Toscanelli, who sent him a map 
of the world, and in answer to his letter of thanks wrote, 
* I am glad the chart is well understood, and that the 
voyage laid down is not only possible but true, certain, 



200 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

honourable, very advantageous, and most glorious among 
all Christians. . . . When the voyage is performed it will be 
to powerful kingdoms and to most noble cities and pro- 
vinces, rich in all things of which we stand in need, particu- 
larly of spice and in a store of jewels ... for which reasons, 
and many more that might be alleged, I do not at all wonder 
that you, who have a great heart, and the Portuguese nation 
which has always had notable men engaged on its under- 
takings, are eagerly bent upon bringing this voyage to pass.' 

But the glory of the discovery of the New World was 
not destined to fall to Portugal. In 1484 Columbus was 
back there, pressing his schemes for a voyage westward 
on the unwilling ears of King John. It was part of 
the policy of the Portuguese government to keep the 
new discoveries in their own hands, by discouraging 
adventurers. A merchant captain and three sailors, who 
seemed likely to disclose some of the secrets of the African 
coast to the Spaniards, were pursued into Spain and done 
to death. But Columbus was insistent on the possibility 
of the discovery of Asia by a western voyage. The Portu- 
guese council determined to test the truth of his supposi- 
tion by ordering three caravels to sail out westward from 
the Cape Verde islands on the route Columbus had laid 
down. These ships after sailing westwards a few days 
returned and reported that they had found nothing. 
Meanwhile, the government was afraid that Columbus 
might sell his views to some other nation. He was accord- 
ingly kept under surveillance, but, about the end of 1484, 
he managed to escape into Spain, taking with him his son 
Diego, whose mother was by now dead. 

The next four years were spent in trying to enlist the 
sympathies of the Spanish court in aid of his expedition. 
Columbus, not finding his task an easy one, sent his 
brother Bartholomew to try and win the patronage of 
Henry vii. of England. In Spain Christopher found 



CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS 201 

support from the great Duke of Medina Sidonia. The 
Spanish monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, while not 
unappreciative of the glory and possible power to be 
gained by the success of such an expedition, were too 
much engaged in their final effort against the Moors to 
consider the matter seriously. But, with a view no doubt 
to prevent Columbus from going to some other power, on 
January 20th, i486, they took him into their service and 
gave him a small pension. After some considerable 
trouble Columbus gained the ear of the great Cardinal 
Mendoza, but still the years passed without the final 
achievement. Meanwhile, he formed an attachment with 
Donna Beatrix, a lady of the court, and by her had a son, 
Ferdinand, the author of his history, who was born in 
1488. In 1489 we find him serving against the Moors at 
the capture of Baza. About this time the monarchs 
ordered a conference of savants to meet at Salamanca to 
report on the possibility of the proposed expedition. 

We must remember that, in May 1487, Bartholomew 
Diaz had rounded the Cape of Good Hope and opened the 
way to the Indian Ocean. Still in 1491 the Commission 
reported adversely. Columbus made one more personal 
effort, but it was in vain : the monarchs determined that 
the expedition was too heavy for their sorely tried finances. 
Thereon Columbus departed from the camp at Santa Fe 
firmly determined to leave Spain for ever. But as he was 
riding away on his mule his friend, the prior of La Ribida, 
pleaded his cause with the queen, who all along had been 
sympathetic. The prior was successful, as the Moors 
were now completel}^ vanquished. So a messenger was 
hurriedly sent after Columbus. 

The court granted Columbus practically all that he 
asked, and his terms were by no means moderate, for he 
had what men call a good conceit of himself. He was to 
have such allowances and high offices as seemed almost 



202 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

too great for a subject. In addition the court was to pay 
seven-eighths of the undertaking, and Columbus was to pay 
the remaining eighth, in return for v/hich he was to have 
an eighth share of all profits. He in turn vowed that he 
would use the proceeds of the adventure for the reconquest 
of the Holy Sepulchre from the infidels. But still the 
question remained to be settled how the sovereigns were 
to raise the necessary monej^. The town of Palos in the 
Gulf of Seville had been mulcted in the service of two 
armed caravels for twelve months, and the opportunity 
was used of placing these vessels at Columbus' disposal. 
A third vessel was supplied by a merchant family of 
the town, the Pinzons. All maritime towns were com- 
manded to sell supplies for the expedition at reasonable 
prices, and all criminal prosecutions, against those who 
volunteered, were ordered to be suspended. 

Half an hour after sunrise on Friday, August 3rd, 1492, 
the little fleet weighed anchor and started on its memor- 
able voyage. It was composed of three ships. The 
flagship of the admiral, as Columbus was styled, was a 
large decked vessel registered as a carrack, named the 
Santa Maria, ' a dull sailer and unfit for discovery ' ; 
she was about sixty- three feet over all in length, fifty-one 
feet along the keel, twenty feet beam, and ten and a 
half feet deep from keel to deck. The other two ships 
commanded by the Pinzons were open caravels, the Nina 
and the Pinfa, decked at the bow and stern with high poops 
as quarters for the crew. The estimates of the personnel 
vary from ninety, in the ' history,' to one hundred and 
twenty. 

Our knowledge of the voyage is drawn mainly from the 
diary kept by Columbus himself. The admiral made first 
for the Canary Islands, and on leaving Gomera, on 
September 6th, the ocean voyage really commenced. On 
the 13th, a hundred leagues west of the Azores, Columbus 



CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS 203 

noted from the compass that they had reached a ' magnetic 
line of no deviation.' Soon they struck the great ' Fucus 
Bank ' of weed known as the Saragossa Sea. They were 
now in what we call the trade winds. Columbus observed 
* that at this point the sea was very smooth, and that 
though the wind was rough the ships did not roll.' 
Though the trade winds were useful he was delighted 
when one day the wind shifted, ' because the men had been 
in great excitement at the idea that there were no winds 
here that would take a ship back to Spain.' After they 
had been out about ten days the admiral was constantly 
on the look-out for the islands which, according to Toscan- 
elli, lay between Europe and the west of Asia. They had 
numerous false alarms, and again and again, from the 
flight of birds or the observation of fish, decided that these 
islands were near at hand. Meanwhile, Columbus, knowing 
his men, each day gave out a false report of the run, ' that 
the men might not feel quite dejected at being so far from 
home.' On October loth, just when the crews were getting 
so dispirited that matters were becoming serious, the men 
of the Nina saw floating past a dog-rose brier covered with 
bloom and a curiously carved stick. At once they were 
all eagerness for the reward promised to the man who first 
saw land. On the night of October nth Columbus himself 
thought he saw a light moving about in the darkness like 
a torch, but when he called others they could not make 
anything out. About two on the next morning the Pinta 
fired a gun ; one of her crew had sighted land. The fleet 
at once lay to. ' Being now arrived the ships lay by, and 
it seemed a long time before the morning came.' 

It was on the morning of Friday, October 12th, 1492, 
thirty-three days after leaving the Canaries, that the small 
island, * called in the Indian tongue Guanahani,' was dis- 
covered. (It has since been identified as Watling Island, 
one of the Archipelago of the Bahamas.) With all due 



204 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

state the admiral landed, the Royal Standard was unfurled ; 
mass said, and the notary entered the record of the formal 
annexation of the island, which was named * San Salvador.' 

Columbus very soon determined that the natives (Caribs) 
of Guanahani were uncivilised and had but little wealth. 
Their skins were of the same olive colour as the natives of 
the Canaries. They smeared their faces with a blood-red 
stain, and chequered them with patches of white chalk. 
They were tall and well-shaped, with good features, except 
that their foreheads were squeezed too high, * which made 
them look rather wild.' Their hair was thick and black 
and usually cropped short, their hands were small, and they 
had grey eyes with specks of blue about the iris. After 
the first moments of strangeness they proved friendly and 
inquisitive. But, delighted as Columbus was with the 
rich growth and lovely scenery of this island and those 
which lay close to it, now that he had proved the correct- 
ness of his calculations the lust for gold conquered the 
desire for fame, or the crusading ideal of winning souls to 
God. On October 21st he noted in his diary, ' I am 
proceeding solely in quest of gold and spices.' At each 
island at which he called he understood the natives to tell 
him that there was a large island lying west called Colba, 
where gold was plentiful. Columbus determined that this 
must be Cipango or Japan : as a matter of fact it was Cuba. 

On arriving off Cuba and coasting along it about half its 
length, he found that the natives had little of the precious 
commodity. The country was fertile: there were great 
stores of fine cotton, and the inhabitants ate tubers, which 
we now call potatoes, and smoked small tubes of dried 
leaves called tobacco. They pointed south and south- 
east, and told him that it was at Bohio (Haiti) and Babeque 
(Jamaica), that the gold mines lay. After failing to reach 
Jamaica, early in December he reached Bohio (Haiti), 
which, owing to the songs of the birds, * like those of 



CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS 205 

Castile,' he named Hispaniola. Here his quest was more 
successful. The natives all had small gold ornaments 
which they were glad to barter for hawks' bells and red 
cloth. They seemed of a higher type than those of the 
other islands. * So loving and tractable and free from 
covetousness they are, that I swear to your Highnesses 
there are no better people, nor any better country, in the 
world.' 

On Christmas Eve a disaster befell the admiral : his ship 
went aground and became a complete wreck. Meanwhile, 
the elder Pinzon had deserted with the Pinta. There was 
nothing for it but to tranship all hands to the Nina. As 
the Cacique of the district, Guacanagari, was friendly, and 
gladly supplied the expedition with native food and with 
gold, Columbus determined to build a fort and leave a 
garrison of forty-two men well-equipped with arms and 
stores. He hoped that by the time he returned with 
fresh supplies from Europe they would have collected 
' a barrel of gold.' 

Columbus started for Europe on January 4th, 1493. 
He had hardly weighed anchor when he was joined by 
Pinzon, who had been to Jamaica and found there gold 
nuggets the size of beans. A violent storm struck them 
when they were still some two hundred leagues west of the 
Azores, and the Pinta again got separated. At the Azores 
Columbus found the Portuguese had orders to arrest him, 
and it was after considerable difficulty that he managed to 
escape, only to be driven by bad weather, on March 3rd, 
into the estuary of the Tagus. King John was bitterly 
disappointed when he heard of Columbus' arrival at 
Lisbon : he would have liked to have had him arrested, 
but the whole city was in an uproar, staring at the Indians 
and talking about the gold ; so there was nothing to do 
but to put a good face on it, and pay the admiral all the 
compHments due to his rank and his performance. After 



2o6 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

spending ten days at Lisbon, feted by everybody, Columbus 
sailed for Palos, which port he reached at midday, on March 
15th. Strange to say, that very evening Pinzon and the 
Pinta arrived there also. 

It is almost impossible to imagine the excitement among 
the savants of Europe caused by the return of Columbus. 
One of them wrote that he could scarcely refrain ' from 
tears of joy at so unlooked for an event ' ; to this Peter 
Martyr replied, ' What more delicious food for an ingenious 
mind.' For the moment even the greedy soul of the 
Genoese adventurer was satisfied. His progress through 
Andalusia was one long triumph among enthusiastic 
crowds, gaping at the Indians with their gold ornaments 
and feathered wrappings, and at the peculiar pets and gay- 
plumaged birds carried by the sailors. At Barcelona, in 
April, the admiral reached the court. Ferdinand and 
Isabella sat on their throne under a golden canopy, ' and 
when he went to kiss their hands, they stood up as to some 
great lord, and made a difficulty to give him their hands.' 
His son adds : ' When the king rode about Barcelona, the 
admiral was on one side and the Infante on the other : 
but before that time none had ever ridden beside his 
Majesty except the Infante.' 

The admiral stayed a bare five months in Spain. It 
would never do to let other nations encroach on his 
preserves. The Portuguese might at any moment attempt 
to despoil Spain of what he had won for her, in spite of the 
fact that by a bull of Martin v., in 143 1, the Spaniards had 
been permitted to sail west and the Portuguese south. 
Diplomacy was called into use, and the pope on May 4th 
issued another bull entitling Spain to possess, ' on con- 
dition of planting the Catholic faith, all lands not already 
occupied by Christian powers west of a meridian drawn 
one hundred leagues west of the Azores.' There was 
no difficulty this time in obtaining volunteers, and, on 



CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS 207 

September 25th, the admiral again weighed anchor from 
Cadiz, with a fleet of seventeen sail, conveying some 
fifteen hundred persons, including artisans and husband- 
men, and all things necessary for building and planting. 
The course steered on this voyage was further south, and 
the first land made was the rocky island of Dominica. 
From there they stood north to Hispaniola, but when they 
reached the site of the town of La Navidad they found 
no sign of the garrison. They learned later that, once 
Columbus had left, discipline had relaxed; the men had 
scattered in parties seeking gold, and had ultimately been 
attacked and killed by the warriors of Caonalo, the king 
of the inland district in which the gold mountains of Cibao 
lay. 

There was nothing for it but to commence the settlement 
afresh, A site near Monte Christi was selected for the new 
city, Isabella, on a stream which runs into a fine haven, 
in the midst of the most beautifully wooded country. But 
the site was badly chosen, the Spaniards having as yet 
but little knowledge of the malarial fever, the scourge of 
the islands. Fever-stricken, and discontented at not find- 
ing gold by the handful, the colonists proved difficult 
to manage. The only really capable subordinate that 
Columbus had was Ojeda, whom he despatched to build 
a fort near the auriferous streams of Cibao. 

After doing his best to start the colony, leaving his 
son Diego as president of the council, Columbus set 
out to explore the coast of Cuba, ' not knowing, indeed, 
whether it was an island or a continent.' First he visited 
Jamaica, * but it soon appeared that the story of the gold 
was a delusion.' Then he headed for Cuba and sailed 
along its southern coast. After a long painful coasting 
voyage, he found his ship leaking, his provisions going 
bad, and the men beginning to mutiny. He determined 
to return, but before doing so he made his captains swear 



2o8 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

before a notary that it was possible to go by land from 
Cuba across Asia to Spain ; his desire being to prove 
to the world that he was the discoverer of the coast of 
Asia. It was a most trying expedition. As he wrote, the 
men had nothing to eat but ' a pound of rotten biscuits in 
the day, with half a pint of wine, unless they happened to 
catch some fish, and I myself am on the same allowance. 
God grant it may be to His honour and for your Highnesses* 
service, for I shall never again for my own benefit expose 
myself to such sufferings and dangers.' 

The return voyage to Hispaniola was most adverse. 
The admiral's health broke down, and for the last five days 
he lay crippled and unconscious. He awoke to find him- 
self on land. But the news Diego had to tell him was most 
depressing. Mutinies had been frequent; the Spaniards 
had begun to oppress the inhabitants, who in turn had 
risen against them ; the fort in the Cibao district had 
only been reheved, thanks to the dashing Ojeda. Mean- 
while, a strong element of opposition to Columbus himself 
had developed, and emissaries had been sent to Spain to 
complain of the harshness of his government. In the 
following March the crisis arrived. The natives goaded by 
ill-usage rose in arms, but, thanks to the gallant service of 
Ojeda, and the fine manoeuvring of a force of two hundred 
men-at-arms and twenty horsemen under the admiral, 
all armed opposition speedily collapsed. Meanwhile, in 
Spain the detractors were gaining ground. Licences were 
granted to adventurers, and Juan Aguado was sent out 
as commissioner to inquire into the alleged abuses. The 
admiral accordingly determined to return to Spain and 
plead his cause at court. But, before leaving the island, 
he had commenced the fatal policy of making slaves of the 
rebels, and sanctioning their export to Spain. He hoped 
thereby to make up the deficit which was caused by the 
gold mines proving so much less rich than he had prophesied. 



CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS 209 

After a perilous voyage owing to contrary winds and 
shortness of food, he arrived in Spain in the summer of 
1496. At first the king and queen received him well, and 
he made the most of his specimens of amber, coral, shells, 
and woods of all description. But the queen gave him 
clearly to understand how much she abhorred the slave 
traffic, and his credit fell when, in the following summer, 
a ship arrived with no gold, but a cargo of slaves. Mean- 
while, the king was engaged with the war against Naples, 
and it was not till May 1498 that Columbus was able to 
equip a fleet of six vessels. So greatly had opinion altered 
that it was only by taking the sweepings of the prisons 
that he was able to man this small squadron. 

On this, his third voj^age, he took a course even yet 
more southerly, and the first land that he reached was the 
island of Trinidad off the mouth of the Orinoco. Trying 
to pass to the south of this island he found himself in the 
Gulf of Paria, and there for the first time, without knowing 
it, he landed on the new continent. He noted that the 
natives nearly all wore ornaments of gold and coloured 
stones, and some had strings of pearls. Proceeding further 
along the coast of Venezuela, he found the pearl fisheries. 
He was greatly troubled by the flood of fresh water which 
issued from the Orinoco, and came to the conclusion that 
he had arrived at a part of the earth which was highest 
and nearest the firmament. ' I have no doubt,' he wrote, 
* that if I could pass beyond the equator after reaching 
the highest point, I should find a mild climate again, and 
fresh changes in the sea and the stars.' He thought that 
the great stream might be one of the rivers of Paradise, 
otherwise it must come from ' a vast land in the south ' . . . 
' but the more I reason on it the more I hold it true that 
the earthly Paradise is there.' 

When Columbus at last reached Hispaniola in August, 
he found that his brother Bartholomew had transported 

o 



210 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

the capital to the new city of San Domingo, named after 
their father Domenico Columbus. The colony was as 
distracted as ever. Roldan, to whom the admiral had 
entrusted * the rod of justice,' had joined the mutineers, 
and even when he was forced to return to his allegiance, 
the desperadoes refused to be included in the reconciliation. 
Meanwhile, the admiral was greatly vexed at the appear- 
ance of adventurers with special charters, exempt from 
his jurisdiction. Notably, there arrived, in September 
1499, Ojeda, now a free-lance, with four ships. He had 
on board, as general adviser, Amerigo Vespucci, who 
subsequently wrote an account of the voyage, which had, 
as luck would have it, followed more or less the track of 
Columbus' last journey. This account was printed by a 
bookseller, who gave the name of America to the new land 
round the Gulf of Paria. Thus it is, by a whim of fortune, 
that the continent, which Columbus discovered, bears the 
name of another. 

Meanwhile, a considerable number of gold mines were 
being discovered, but owing to the complete breakdown 
of the administration neither the crown nor Columbus 
reaped the profits which were due to them. The admiral 
accordingly made every effort to subdue the malcontents, 
whose leader was a young hidalgo, Hernando de Guevara, 
and his cousin Adrian de Moxica. While in exile Guevara 
had become betrothed to the daughter of Anacoana, the 
queen of one of the districts of the island. Roldan, who 
saw the danger of such a marriage, arrested Guevara, and 
sent him to San Domingo. De Moxica at once collected a 
large force, but Roldan w^as too quick ; the insurgents were 
captured, and, after a painful scene, Moxica was condemned 
and hanged. A few days later a new commissioner arrived 
from Spain. 

This man, Bobadilla, had been sent with large powers 
to supersede Columbus, if the reports which were lodged 



CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS 211 

against his tyrannical government proved true. He 
arrived to find great excitement in the new capital owing 
to the summary methods which were being used against 
de Moxica's followers. Columbus himself was in the Vega, 
and the new commissioner was besieged with complaints. 
He com.pletely failed to recognise the difference between 
a young colony and an old settled country. Without 
waiting to hear the other side he decided against the 
admiral, and, assuming the whole power of government, 
he ordered Columbus to return, and thereon arrested him 
and his brother, and cast them into prison. 

It was as a prisoner in irons that the admiral appeared 
before his sovereigns on the return from his third journey. 
They accepted his excuses, acquitted him of all charges, 
but refused to restore him to his title and honour in the 
new country he had discovered. But though he had lost 
his proud position as governor of the new lands, his thirst 
for adventure was by no means quenched. Da Gama 
had returned triumphantly to Portugal, in 1499, after 
visiting India, and Columbus longed to find the strait 
leading round the southern continent into the Indian 
Ocean. In the spring of 1502 he received permission to sail 
west. He had with him four ships, one of which was under 
the command of his brother Bartholomew, and he took 
with him his little son Ferdinand, the writer of the history. 

The admiral had received explicit orders not to go near 
Hispaniola on his way out. But in spite of this, after 
touching at Martinique, he sailed straight to Hispaniola, 
in time to see his enemy Bobadilla set out for Spain with 
£30,000 in specie. His long practice at sea told him that 
a hurricane was approaching ; but Bobadilla would not 
heed his warnings, and, sailing away, was heard of no more. 
From Hispaniola the admiral pushed westward and reached 
the Bay of Honduras. From there he turned south and 
coasted along the Isthmus of Darien, seeking a strait, 



212 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

but never guessing that a narrow peninsula divided him 
from an unknown ocean. As he went along the coast he 
gathered a considerable store of pearls and gold. He 
felt convinced that the treasure of the temple was to be 
found in the region of Veragua, which he identified as the 
golden peninsula spoken of by Josephus. With his return 
journey his ill-fortune came on afresh. He lost all but two 
ships, and ultimately they came into collision, and sank 
off the coast of Jamaica. The crews escaped ashore, but 
the difficulty was how to send news of their plight to 
Hispaniola. At last one of the officers, Mendoz, under- 
took to make the voyage thither in a native canoe. But 
when he arrived in the colony the governor refused to send 
any aid, and it was about a year before Mendoz was able 
himself to hire a caravel. During this period the admiral 
and his party remained at Santa Gloria in Jamaica, owing 
their lives to the friendship of the natives who supplied 
them with food. 

On November 7th, 1504, Columbus landed at San Lucar 
in Spain. His days of adventure were now over. His old 
friend the queen was dead, and the king was too busy 
planning diplomatic marriages for his children to listen 
to his claims or his offers of service. The admiral was 
broken in health, but his spirit was as strong as ever, 
' though the gout was racking him without mercy.' He 
tried hard to have his claims in the Indies exchanged for 
a pension in Castile, urging that the Indies were ' showing 
daily more and more what they were like to be, and how 
great would be the admiral's share.' But it was of no avail, 
the gout took firmer and firmer hold on him, and he died 
at last in an inn at Valladolid, on Ascension Day, May 21st, 
1506. He was buried in that city, but three years after- 
wards his cofQn was conveyed to the convent of Las 
Ceuvas in Seville. From there, in 1541, the remains were 
translated to the cathedral of San Domingo to a stone 



CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS 213 

vault on the gospel side of the altar. They remained 
there till 1877, when they were sent to their present 
resting-place in Cuba. 

The discover}^ of the New World by Columbus is probably 
the greatest secular event in the history of Europe. It 
affected every department of life and thought. It com- 
pletely revolutionised men's ideas of the universe. It 
broke down barriers of religion, of custom, and of nation- 
ality. It opened wide for investigation vast regions of 
speculation in geography, natural science, and astronomy. 
It led to the founding of new states, where these new 
theories of political science and religion might be put into 
practice. These new states in their turn have deeply 
affected the political and social organisation of the old 
world. 

To Columbus belongs the supreme honour of having 
been the pioneer who led the way across the Sea of 
Darkness. It in no way lessens his prestige that, even 
before his time, men of science were sure that it was possible 
to cross the Atlantic. The fact remains that, until his 
day, there was no seaman with sufficient inspiration and 
practical skill to perform this wonderful feat of seamanship. 
He alone had the necessary power of observation to note 
with his own eyes the evidence in favour of the possibility 
of the attempt : he alone had the steadfastness of purpose 
to cling to his scheme in the face of every rebuff, and he 
alone had the skill and daring to carry it to completion. 
The pity is that he did not remain a seaman pure and 
simple. It was the fatal store of pride and ambition at 
the root of his character which has robbed him of his fair 
name in history, and lost for him the honour of perpetuating 
that name in the continent which he discovered. 

Columbus set out to find the New World from pure desire 
of adventure, and to win new realms to Christ. He was 
led away from this, his true province, by the sight of gold • 



214 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

when the lust for gold was not satisfied quickly enough 
to suit his own desires, or those of his master Ferdinand, 
he was led into giving his sanction to slavery. Thus it is 
that he must ever bear the odium of being the originator 
of that cruel form of government which has blotted out 
the Caribs from the face of the earth, and has implanted 
the debased negro race in the fairest portion of the globe. 
Still, even in this we must not blame him too much, for 
we must remember that he had been trained in the 
Portuguese service, where it was held that gold and slaves 
were the only things worth importing into Europe. 

As an administrator Columbus was a failure. His political 
economy was bad to begin with, and he had not the art 
of governing large bodies of men. His was the mind of a 
trickster rather than that of a statesman. He was also 
too innately selfish for his position : he did not scruple to 
take the reward for the discovery of Guanahani from the 
seaman who actually saw it first. It was his misfortune 
that he turned from seamanship to statesmanship. If he 
had remained purely and simply the adventurer, he would 
not have been exposed to trials which his character was 
not able to bear. Doubtless, with his powers of observa- 
tion, his faculty of deduction, in the fourteen years which 
intervened between his first discoveries and his death, he 
could have mapped out the whole coast of the continent, 
instead of merely adding to the map, the West Indian 
Archipelago, the coast of Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa 
Rica, Darien, and Paria in Venezuela. Had this been the 
case he would have known before he died that, what he 
had discovered was not the coast-line of Asia, but a new 
continent, which doubtless would have borne his name. 



MARTIN LUTHER 

In the two preceding chapters we have traced the various 
causes which, teaching men to view the world from entirely 
new aspects, led to a complete revolution in civilisation. 
At such a crisis it was no wonder that men began 
to scrutinise the foundations of their behef. Thus it is 
that the dominating note of the sixteenth century is the 
Reformation. The Reformation, like all other great 
movements, was not the result of a cataclysm but the 
offspring of evolution. Though the Church of the West, 
under the domination of the Papacy, had for centuries 
shown an impenetrable front to the world, she had only 
done so by successfully embracing new movements of 
thought, or by ruthlessly crushing all attempted schisms. 
On the one hand we remember how she found room within 
her portals for the disciples of St. Francis and St. Dominic : 
on the other we call to mind how she dealt with the 
Albigenses. But from the time she accepted the friars 
down to the commencement of the sixteenth century, 
she admitted no fresh infusion of thought ; not because 
there was no new religious movement during that period, 
but because her rulers were too much engaged in their 
effort to aggrandise their own position, or in fighting among 
themselves. 

The evangelical movement started by Wycliffe in Eng- 
land, and developed by Huss in Bohemia, was labelled as a 
heresy and assailed by every form of cruelty. But, in 
spite of the thunders of the Church, Wycliffe and Huss 

215 



2i6 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

had done their work, and, to some extent, the Bible became 
a book known at least to the trading classes and to some 
portion of the peasantry of northern Europe. Meanwhile, 
the political position of the Papacy had been assailed by 
the monarchs of the West. The Babylonish Captivity, 
as we remem.ber, was followed at the end of the reign of 
Charles iv. by the Great Schism. From 1378 to 1417, the 
world saw with astonishment a pope at Avignon and another 
at Rome mutually excommunicating each other. The 
scandal was ended by the Council of Constance (1414-1417). 
This council was summoned by the Emperor Sigismund 
in conjunction with the kings of France and England. 
Although it upheld the papal doctrine to the extent of 
burning John Huss as a heretic, it seriously considered the 
question, propounded a generation earlier by Wycliffe, 
as to whether it would not be for the benefit of the world, 
if the Papacy was stripped of its riches and the Church 
returned to apostolic poverty. 

The unity of the Church was restored at Constance, 
and the reformers so far got their way that it was laid down 
that, in future, there must be a sequence of councils to 
supervise the Papacy. The next council met in 1431 at 
Basle, and its deliberations degenerated into mere futile 
wrangling between the papal party and the reforming 
party. Ultimately, owing to the excesses of the reformers, 
the pope was able to close the council. Thereafter the 
Renaissance became the dominant thought in men's 
minds, and there was so little religious vitality in the age, 
that the excesses of Alexander vi. (Rodrigo Borgia) and 
Julius II. (Giuliano della Rovere) were condoned in con- 
sideration of the work they effected for art, and the 
temporal position they gained for the Church. 

While in Italy the leaders of European thought were 
casting religion to the winds, in Germany, during the latter 
half of the fifteenth century, there appeared a strange 



MARTIN LUTHER 217 

growth of piety. Owing to bad sanitation the plague 
had become almost endemic ; new diseases were con- 
stantly appearing, and the rumours of an invasion by the 
dreaded Turks were ever on men's lips. The whole country 
was permeated by a strange restlessness. Relics and pil- 
grimages became in constant demand : bands of children, 
infected by the prevailing terror, started off on pilgrimages 
in their shirts. Thus religion was brought home to every 
one, but it was the religion of terror. Christ was no longer 
the loving Saviour but the dread judge, who could only 
be propitiated through His mother Mary, or her mother 
Anne. Strange to say, while the people at large were thus 
oppressed by religious fears, the secular clergy remained 
unmoved and sunk in moral degradation. But it was 
different with the Franciscan, Dominican and Augustinian 
friars. They went back to the old system of mortifying 
the flesh, and by their energy and spiritual light became 
the popular preachers and confessors. There were not, 
however, wanting other signs to show that a change was 
coming. The German people had from the time of the 
Council of Constance been awaiting the promised reform 
of ecclesiastical institutions. They bitterly grudged the 
vast sums that were drained annually in Peter's Pence, 
and other forms, to the papal coffers. In despair of these 
reforms, by the end of the fifteenth century we find the 
rulers of Saxony and Brandenburg exercising the pis 
episcopale for the good of the state, quietly setting aside 
the old franchises and privileges of the Church, while 
laymen were exercising their right to do Christian work 
in their own way by giving donations and leaving bequests, 
to be administered for charitable purposes by town councils 
or secular authorities. Meanwhile, religious associations 
for service and prayer of a strictly non-cleric formation 
were springing up all over the country. 
The marked characteristics of this movement throughout 



2i8 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

Germany were its spontaneity and its lack of regulation. 
This was due to the German Constitution. There had 
been but little strengthening of the central power since the 
days of the Golden Bull of Charles iv. In 1437 Sigismund, 
the last of the Luxemburg emperors, died, and was suc- 
ceeded in that year by Albert 11. of Hapsburg ; and until 
the dissolution of the empire in 1806, with a brief interval 
in the eighteenth century, the Hapsburgs held the Imperial 
sceptre. In the main their policy consisted in gradually 
absorbing into their own hands the various fiefs of the 
empire, and making little or no effort to strengthen the 
empire itself. During the reign of Maximilian (1493-1519) 
the electors attempted to force the emperor to strengthen 
the empire by (i), putting an end to private feuds; 
(2) establishing a federative Court of Justice independent 
of the emperor ; (3) organising an equitable system of 
Imperial taxation under control of the Diet ; (4) dividing 
the country up into circles for military administrative 
purposes ; and (5) estabhshing a check on the emperor 
by means of an effective Central Council. 

The net result of these attempts was that an Imperial 
Chancery (Reichskammer) , and the circles, with their system 
of taxation and levy of soldiers, existed with some 
modifications to the end of the empire. But the Imperial 
Council of Regency (Reichsregiment) , which was supposed 
to control the emperor, disappeared early in the reign of 
Charles v. The Diet, owing to the exclusion of most of 
the towns and all the knights, became an assembly of 
hereditary nobles with but little authority, though at 
times able to make itself felt when the emperor was engaged 
in purely dynastic pursuits outside the empire. 

But a more mighty influence than that of the emperor 
was about to arise in Germany, for, on November loth, 
1483, Martin Luther was born at Eisleben, on the northern 
edge of the Thiiringer Wald. His parents belonged to the 



MARTIN LUTHER 219 

sturd}^ peasantry of Saxony. His father, John, was by 
trade a miner, a man of iron will and sane intelligence, 
who, by his own thrift and skill, gradually forced his way 
up from a mere workman to the position of manager of a 
group of furnaces owned by himself at Mansfeld, whither 
he had moved soon after his eldest son Martin's birth. 
Luther's parents v/ere Spartans with a distinctly 
evangelical turn of mind. They taught their children 
the Lord's Prayer, the Ten Commandments, the crude 
and simple hymns of the day, and the works of Jesus 
from the Gospels. This religious education, ' the faith of 
the children,' as he called it, was one of the dominant 
factors in Luther's life. But equally important was the 
sternness, not to say harshness, with which every little 
fault, every little outburst of temper, was punished; for 
the strictness of his parents tended to emphasise in the 
boy's mind the idea of Christ and His Heavenly Father 
as avenging judges. One other influence of childhood is 
important to note, namely, the materialistic tendency 
of the German peasant to attribute everything, at all 
strange or ill-omened, to the personal action of the devil. 
This tendency was, no doubt, more prevalent in Mansfeld 
than in many other places, owing to its situation on the 
edge of the wild Thiiringer Wald. 

Martin's quickness and intelligence did not escape the 
eye of his father, who destined him for a higher situation 
than he himself occupied, and sent him off at the age of 
fourteen, with a boy friend, to beg his education as a poor 
student at Magdeburg. After a year at Magdeburg the 
boy next went to St. George's High School at Eisenach, 
where, while receiving lodging and education free in return 
for singing in the church choir, he had to get his bread by 
begging. The effect of his harsh training at home already 
began to show itself. The dominating note of fear 
overclouded the evangelical faith implanted in him at 



220 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

home. He tells us how at Magdeburg he had been impressed 
by seeing a young Prince of Anhalt, who had forsaken home 
and rank to save his soul, wandering starved and bare- 
footed through the city begging bread, and scourging his 
poor emaciated body. Another event of those Magdeburg 
days left a burning mark in his memor}^ He went into a 
church, and above the altar saw a picture of a ship repre- 
senting the Catholic Church. In it was the pope with 
his cardinals and bishops, the crew consisting of monks 
and priests, the helmsman being the Holy Ghost. The 
ship was sailing to heaven, but not a layman was on board, 
though some were swimming about in the water trying 
to pull themselves on board by means of ropes and cords. 
The picture haunted him for years, the question constantly 
returning to his mind : Was it only by taking orders 
that a man could save his soul ? Everything tended to 
this conclusion. The town of Eisenach was under the 
spell of St. Elizabeth, who had deserted family comforts 
and position for the sake of religion. The beautiful 
stained glass window of the church where Luther sang 
told her story, and the monks were not slow to enforce it 
on his willing mind. 

But even at Eisenach Luther came under a contrar}^ 
influence. One day when begging he met a Frau Cotta, 
who belonged to a notable family of the town. She was 
so charmed with his singing that she insisted on his making 
her house his home. Frau Cotta was as virtuous and as 
devout as Saint Elizabeth, but in another way ; she 
believed that holiness could best be expressed by doing 
her duty in that state of life to which God had called her. 
Under her influence Luther lost his rugged ways, and found 
that gentleness could exist with true religion. His life 
also about this time was considerably brightened by 
learning to play the flute. But nothing can better explain 
to us his state of mind than his incredulous surprise, when 



MARTIN LUTHER 221 

one day he heard Frau Cotta declare that there is nothing 
more lovely on earth than the love of husband and wife, 
when it is in the fear of the Lord. 

In 1501 Luther, at the age of seventeen, moved from the 
High School at Eisenach to the University of Erfurt, 
which, he tells us, * enjoyed such distinction that all others 
in comparison were mere village schools.' Erfurt was the 
recognised meeting-place of the ' humanism ' of Italy 
and the ' scholasticism ' of Germany. It was also noted 
for a system of biblical exegesis and for a strong strain of 
anticlericalism ; in fact, it represented every school of 
thought. Luther's father had sent him to the university 
with the idea of his becoming a lawyer. He accordingl}/ 
began a course of philosophy which included logic, 
dialectic and rhetoric, followed by physics and astronomy. 
Consequently, he had but little time to devote to the study 
of the Humanities. Still, in private he managed to read 
a considerable number of classical authors, especially 
Virgil, whose Bucolics and Georgtcs were his favourite 
books. Very soon he began to make a name for himself 
among his fellow students, who called him ' the philo- 
sopher.' By 1505 he had successfully taken his master's 
degree, in the examination for which he was second out 
of seventeen competitors. His father was delighted, and 
sent him a most handsome present of a Corpus Juris, 
considering it a most appropriate gift for the future 
lawyer. 

But it is a question whether Luther himself had ever 
really decided to enter the law. As the years had passed, 
his religious doubts and fears had gathered rather than 
dispersed : the remembrance of his early days had killed 
all sympathy between himself and his parents, and, though 
he was far too good a German to disobey, there was no 
natural confidence between them. As he returned from 
paying a visit to his home, in July of the year in which 



222 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

he took his degree, a terrible thunderstorm broke over 
him. One vivid flash of Hghtning followed by a terrible 
peal of thunder almost blinded him. As he sank to the 
ground half unconscious he cried out, ' Help, Saint Anne ! 
save me, save me, and I will become a monk.' He had 
already been greatly upset by the sudden death of a friend 
in the hunting-field. The idea of death in fact obsessed 
him. Accordingly, that very evening after entertaining 
his friends, but without notifying his parents, he walked 
up to the Augustinian Convent at Erfurt and demanded 
to be taken as a novice. The resolve, sudden as it seemed 
at the time, was as we know the result of years of doubt. 

* Doubt makes a monk,' says the old proverb, and certainly 
this was true of Luther's case. 

The reformed Augustinian Eremites represented the 
best class of monks in Germany. Their convents were 
for the most part in the greater towns, and the brethren 
were encouraged to study, with the result that they held 
the chairs of philosophy and theology at many of the 
universities of Germany. Though called after St. Augus- 
tine they seldom if ever read his works, and their dogma 
belonged to the opposite pole of mediaeval thought, 
for they were strenuous teachers of the doctrine of the 

* Immaculate Conception,' and vehement in spreading 
the ' cult of the Blessed Anne.' Further, it is inter- 
esting to note that they were great upholders of the papal 
supremacy. 

Luther spent his year of noviciate in the study of 
theology, and, in April 1507, took his orders as priest. The 
two years were times of perplexity. In spite of fastings, 
prayers, and scourgings, doubt was still undissipated ; 
added to this his father's displeasure caused him many a 
pang. However, about the time of his ordination, his 
father, who had lost his second son, so far relented as to 
have an interview with him, and sent him twenty guilders 



MARTIN LUTHER 223 

for his consecration feast. By now Martin was considered 
a model of monastic piety j but he felt no relief from sin : 
God seemed as far from him as ever. Certainty was what 
he wanted — certainty that he would be saved. With his 
brain he assented to the creed ; he could follow the 
sequence of contrition, confession and pardon, but the 
thought which ever recurred was how could he tell that 
his contrition was real, that his confession was complete ? 
The superior of the convent could not deal with the 
situation, but fortunately the Vicar-General of the Order, 
Staupitz, was a man of understanding. He advised Luther 
to read the Bible, St. Augustine and Tauler ; but still 
Luther was oppressed by the contrast, which had sunk 
into his soul, between the teaching of the mediaeval Church 
of the extreme sinfulness of man and the awful righteous- 
ness of God. He asked Staupitz how it was possible for 
man to achieve the righteousness of God ? Staupitz 
gradually was able to show him that it was not a matter 
of human effort but of Divine Grace ; that man might 
attain it, not by his own works, but in and through Christ. 
Fellowship with God was the solution of the mystery, and 
fellowship was the result of trust or faith. Thus it was 
that there dawned in Luther's soul an understanding of 
the text, ' The just shall live by faith.' Hence he was 
led to comprehend that penitence was not the end of all 
things, but the beginning of a new life lived in the love 
and confidence of God. * Formerly,' he wrote to Staupitz, 
' there had hardly, within the whole range of scriptures, 
been a more bitter word for me than this same " penitence " 
— and that although I had sedulously tried to disguise my 
true feelings from God and to express, as sinner, an 
affection that was feigned, and as free, an affection that 
was forced. Nothing now in all the Bible has for me a 
sweeter or more grateful sound than penitence.' He had 
indeed learned how, when the love of God enters the 



224 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

human heart, the soul turns from sin and gives itself in 
joyful surrender to God. 

For the year following his conversion Luther continued 
to live as a monk in the convent at Erfurt. He now 
recognised that life was a gift given by God to be enjoyed ; 
but, in spite of his sense of pardon, he still remained a 
true son of the mediaeval Church. He had as yet no 
thought of challenging its doctrines or institutions. In 
the following year, 1509, by Staupitz's direction, he was 
transferred ^^dth some other monks to assist in the new 
University of Wittenberg, which had been founded, in 
1502, by Frederic the Wise, Elector of Saxony. From the 
first the university had fallen under the tutelage of the 
Augustinian Eremites. Frederic had a great regard for 
them from his boyhood, and Staupitz was a close personal 
friend. The university was very poor, and its professors 
were mainly paid by prebends attached to the Castle 
Church. After the first enthusiasm the students began to 
fall off in numbers, and the professors departed to seek 
richer emoluments elsewhere. It was to fill one of these 
vacancies that Luther was summoned to Wittenberg. 
His duty was to teach the dialectics and physics of 
Aristotle — an uncongenial task. He would have preferred 
theology, ' which,' he wrote, ' is the kernel of the nut, 
the core of the wheat, the marrow of the bone.' 

In 151 1 his duties at Wittenberg were interrupted by 
a journey to Rome. Staupitz, the Vicar of the Augustinian 
order, was anxious to amalgamate the reformed and un- 
reformed monasteries. Difiiculties arose, and it was 
imperative to send to Rome a messenger on whom he could 
absolutely depend. He accordingly selected Luther as 
the most trustworthy of the stricter order of the monks. 
Luther entered Rome in a state of the greatest exulta- 
tion. ' I greet thee, thou Holy Rome, thine holy power 
the blood of the martyrs.' So he exclaimed when he 



MARTIN LUTHER 225 

first saw the city. His official business proceeded smoothly 
and quickly, and he seems to have had no complaints to 
make against the Curia. He climbed the thirty-eight 
steps leading to the vestibule of St. Peter — every step 
counting a remission of seven years* purgatory. He visited 
all the shrines, gazed in admiration on all the relics, said 
Masses for the souls of his parents, and listened reverently 
to the tales of the martyrs. But a man of Luther's keen 
perception could not be long in Rome without finding out 
that there was something far wrong. ' Be done, you 
heavy blockhead/ the priests would say as he reverently 
read the Mass, ' and let our Lady have her Son again.' 
Others might be heard to mutter at the consecration of the 
elements, ' Bread thou art and bread thou wilt remain : 
wine thou art and wine thou wilt continue to be.' 
Cardinals hved in open sin, and the papal courtiers scoffed 
at the idea of chastity. Little wonder was it that Luther 
turned from Rome, more than ever convinced in his soul 
of the uselessness of works without faith. 

In October 1512, Luther took his doctor's degree in 
theology, after a short course of study at Erfurt. He now 
succeeded Staupitz as Professor of Theology at Wittenberg. 
He was fast becoming an important figure in the world of 
learning in Germany, and his sermons were celebrated 
far and wide. He was by upbringing and habit of mind 
a practical man. Theolog}^ he looked upon as an * experi- 
mental discipline,' whereby a man might find the grace 
of God, and by that means live a life in God's service. 
Having failed to find it himself in the system of penitence 
of the schoolmen, he did not stop to criticise their methods, 
but he took his hearers back to the personal religion of 
St. Augustine and St. Bernard. Gradually he developed 
the doctrine ' that man receives pardon b}- the free grace 
of God, that when he lays hold of God's promise of pardon 
he becomes a new creature, that the sense of pardon is the 

p 



226 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

beginning of a new life of sanctification.' By the middle 
of 1516, he reached the parting of the ways on the practical 
issue of indulgences, on which subject he preached a sermon 
in July of that year. The current doctrine of the age was 
known as the Sacrament of Penance. Absolution was 
granted after contrition and confession ; it removed all 
the guilt of sin and all eternal punishment. But it did not 
at once open the gates of heaven ; it did not take away the 
punishment of purgatory. The pains of purgatory could 
only be removed after the performance of the penance 
imposed by the priest ; that is, by a temporal satisfaction. 
This, however, raised the question as to how a man could 
be sure that the priest had imposed the proper penance, 
and that the satisfaction, equivalent to the demand of 
God, had been performed. It was here that indulgences 
came in ; for, according to the theologians, the pope had 
under his especial charge a Treasury of Merits, consisting 
of the accumulated good deeds of living men and of the 
saints in heaven. An indulgence was in fact a draft on 
this treasur}^ granted by the pope, which secured remission 
of penalties after contrition, confession and absolution, 
whether the priest had imposed a sufficient penalty or 
whether he had not. Indulgences were also useful to the 
indifferent Christian, who was not certain that his sorrow 
was real contrition, but whose conscience told him that 
something more was necessary than perfunctory confession 
and absolution. This was known as the doctrine of 
Attrition, and though not universally held, was preached at 
Erfurt by John von Palz, who was Professor of Theology 
at the moment Luther entered on his monastic career. 

A year after his first sermon on indulgences, in the 
autumn of 15 17, Luther, by now Vicar of the Augustinian 
order in Misnia and Thuringia, heard with indignation that 
a Dominican monk, by name Tetzel, had arrived in the 
Magdeburg district with the object of selHng an indulgence. 



MARTIN LUTHER 227 

This particular indulgence had been granted by Leo x. 
(Giovanni de* Medici) to the Archbishop of Maintz, who 
had passed it on to Tetzel. The money thus raised was 
to be devoted to the rebuilding of St. Peter's Church at 
Rome. Frederic of Saxony had refused to allow the 
commissary to enter his territory, but Tetzel had estabhshed 
himself just across the border, and many of Luther's 
congregation had proceeded thither to buy the indulgence. 
It was not to be supposed that the ' common man ' could 
understand the abstruse doctrine of penitence, and Luther 
was furious at seeing his beloved congregation encouraged 
to believe that they could buy their salvation with money. 
So, about noon, on October 31st, he walked down to the 
market-place and posted on the door of the Castle Church 
a document containing ninety-five theses, making six 
distinct assertions about the efficacy of indulgences. 
First, that the indulgence can only remit an ecclesiastical 
penalty ; second, that the pope himsdf cannot remit 
guilt ; third, that God alone can remit punishment for 
sin ; fourth, that the penalties of the Church only refer 
to the living, the pope having no power over souls in 
purgatory ; fifth, that the Christian who has received 
pardon from God requires no indulgence ; sixth, that there 
is no such thing as a Treasury of Merits as defined by the 
schoolmen. 

Within a fortnight Luther's theses were known all over 
Germany. They were popular, because there was a growing 
feeling of irritation at the papal demands for money ; they 
appealed to the simple-minded because of their popular 
treatment, and they expressed what thousands of pious 
Germans had been thinking. Tetzel published a counter- 
thesis at the end of the year, but the most capable 
reply was the Obelisks of Doctor John Eck of Ingolstadt. 
The papal Curia at first did not concern itself ; Pope 
Leo, thinking the matter was a mere monkish quarrel 



228 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

between Luther and Eck, took no notice of the matter. 
During the summer of 1518, Luther wrote a general answer 
to his opponents — among whom was Prierias, a papal 
censor and friend of Leo — in a book called the Resolutions, 
which he dedicated to Staupitz and sent to the pope. 
To Luther's mind the crux of the situation was whether 
human intellect was to remain bound, and all speculation 
on matters of faith debarred either by the plea of 
ecclesiastical usage, or by that of the infalhbility of the 
pope. On the papal side the purely intellectual question 
was not considered important ; but the question as to 
whether the Curia could in future raise money by 
indulgences attacked the base of the papal revenue, and 
might cause great financial embarrassment. Accordingly, 
in July 1518, Luther was summoned to Rome. 

Luther was fortunate in that one of his greatest friends, 
Spalatin, was chaplain to Frederic of Saxony ; he accord- 
ingly wrote to him to ask him to point out to Frederic 
that this summons to Rome was a slight on the rights of 
German universities. The elector was at the moment 
attending the Diet at Augsburg. Spalatin wrote to his 
master and also to the Emperor Maximihan. Both these 
princes determined to defend Luther : Frederic, because 
he was jealous of any interference with his university ; 
and Maximilian, because he thought he might find in him 
a useful lever in any future quarrel with the Papacy. The 
result of their efforts was that the pope entrusted Cardinal 
Cajetan, his legate in Germany, with the business of 
interviewing Luther and compelling him to recant. The 
emperor had warned the pope that there was a spirit of 
revolt abroad, and that he ought to be cautious in his 
dealings with Luther ; but the cardinal, after first trying 
to win Luther by bribes, refused to allow him to discuss 
his theses, and contented himself by insisting that he 
should recant. In the end Luther returned home with 



MARTIN LUTHER 229 

the feeling that as the pope was so ill-informed he had better 
appeal to a General Council, and at once set to work to 
write an account of his interview with the legate — the 
Acta Augustana, which were speedily published and read 
all over Germany. 

At Wittenberg Luther daily expected to hear that he 
had been excommunicated as a heretic ; but political 
events were happening which for the time diverted the 
papal attention to another quarter. In January 1519, 
the Emperor Maximilian died ; there at once appeared 
three candidates for the Imperial crown — his grandson 
Charles, Francis i. of France, and Henry viii. of England. 
The real choice lay between Francis and Charles. The 
pope threw himself on the side of Francis, for he could 
not but regard with grave apprehension the possibility 
of Charles' ascent to the Imperial throne. Charles was, by 
the death of his mother Joanna, already King of Spain, 
which included the new world and the kingdom of the 
two Sicilies ; and also through his grandmother, Mary of 
Burgundy, he succeeded Maximilian as ruler of the Nether- 
lands, Lorraine, and Franche Comte. Leo desired to gain 
the vote of Frederic of Saxony for the candidature of the 
French king ; accordingly he sent him the Golden Rose, 
and despatched one of his chamberlains, a Saxon, Von 
Miltitz, to sound Luther. Von Miltitz, on arriving in 
Germany, found that the result of the action of Cajetan 
had been to weld together into one movement the religious 
reformation, the humanist intellectual revolt, and the 
growing restlessness against the papal domination. A 
man of considerable tact and perspicacity, he felt that the 
matter must be handled most carefully. On interviewing 
Luther he found that the monk was ready to yield in 
so far as to write a submissive letter to the pope, and de- 
clare that indulgences were useful in remitting temporal 
canonical penalties. But, unfortunately for the Papacy, 



230 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

all its adherents were not so politic as von Miltitz, and 
Luther had to withstand many assaults, notably from 
Eck ; all these pamphleteers confronted him with the 
doctrine of the absolute authority of the pope. This 
forced Luther to investigate the papal decretals, with 
the consequence that he found that a great many of them 
were forged. The result came as a complete shock to one 
who, in spite of his opinion on indulgences, had never 
challenged the papal supremacy. He was accordingly 
quite pleased to accept the offer of a public disputation 
with Eck at Leipzig, hoping that it would clear up the 
question of the papal supremacy. But Eck had other 
objects in view ; his main desire was to fasten on Luther the 
opprobrium of the word heretic. He cleverly forced him 
to acknowledge that in his opinion the doctrines of Wycliffe 
and Huss were not wrong. The effect of this admission 
was most disastrous ; the audience looked on askance ; and 
Duke George of Saxony cried out, ' God help us ! the 
plague ! ' 

The Leipzig disputation taught Luther where he really 
stood. He followed it up in 1520 by writing and publish- 
ing his three well-known books, the great Reformation 
treatises, The Liberty of a Christian Man, To the Christian 
Nobility of the German Nation concerning the Reformation 
of the Christian Commonwealth, and On the Babylonish 
Captivity of the Church. The appeal to the Christian 
nobility of the German nation made the greatest impression. 
It began by demonstrating that the pretended spiritual 
power, which made reform impossible, was a mere delusion, 
and that the claim of the pope to be the sole interpreter of 
the Scriptures was foolish — for they lay open to all true 
believers. It proceeded to point out that the laity had 
every right to summon and take part in a General Council ; 
it recounted the enormous toll the Papacy levied on 
Germany, and ended by sketching out a comprehensive 



MARTIN LUTHER 231 

plan for a national German Church with a national 
ecclesiastical council ; it also suggested the reduction of the 
mendicant orders, the inspection of religious houses, the 
hmitation of pilgrimages and feast days, and advocated 
the marriage of parish priests to put an end to the immoral 
concubinage of the clergy. 

Germany was electrified ; every grievance, every abuse 
was so clearly defined ; the reforms were so in accordance 
with what was desired. Nobles and burghers, humanists 
and reformers felt they had gained a leader ; and it was 
with difficulty that the papal bull of excommunication 
could be published. Luther himself burned it publicly ; 
and in many places, where its pubhcation was attempted, 
there were riots. 

The papal party now turned to the emperor, Charles v., 
and the pope despatched as his envoy Girolamo Aleander, 
a cultivated ecclesiastic, well-known in Germany. The 
new emperor called together his first Diet at Worms. 
There was much to arrange for the government of Germany 
during his absence in the other parts of his dominions. 
There was the all-absorbing question of foreign policy ; 
the point to be elucidated being whether the pope would 
aid him in expeUing the French from Lombardy. Lastly 
came the question of the religious disturbance in Germany. 
Charles, though his mind was slow-moving, was eminently 
clear-headed and businesslike, and possessed of great 
determination. Himself a staunch Catholic, he was very 
anxious to win the pope over to his side in the struggle in 
Italy ; but he refused to allow Luther to be condemned 
unheard, or until the consent of the diet had been gained. 
The diet resolved that Luther should be heard, and, on 
April 15th, he arrived at Worms under a safe-conduct. 
The next day he had to face the diet. He was asked to 
retract what he had written, and was given a day to con- 
sider his reply. After some hours of terrible depression 



232 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

he made up his mind, and calmly entered the diet. He 
confessed that some of the expressions in his books were 
more insolent than beseemed a Christian, and for these 
he apologised ; but, he would not retract his condemna- 
tion of the Papacy, though he was willing to listen to an}^ 
one who could prove that he was wrong. Through Eck, 
Charles told him he must retract what he had said in 
contradiction to the Council of Constance ; but Luther 
replied that he knew both pope and councils had often 
erred, but that he was bound by his conscience to the 
Holy Scriptures. 

It was clear that Luther's conscience, bound fast to the 
Holy Scriptures, was not to be overawed by any council, 
and there was nothing for it but to pronounce against him 
the ban of the empire, though he was allowed to leave 
Worms before the pronouncement. It is significant that 
the day the ban was issued the pope made a secret treaty 
with Charles v. Meanwhile, Luther, as he journeyed 
homew^ards, was seized by a band of soldiers belonging to 
the Elector Frederic, and carried off to the Castle of 
Wartburg, where he remained until it was safe for him to 
return to Wittenberg. 

The ban of the empire could not be put into force, for, 
as the papal nuncio said, nine-tenths of Germany cried 
' Long live Luther ' and the other tenth ' Down with the 
Church.' If it had not been for the question of doctrine, 
Charles would also have been on his side. While Luther 
remained in retirement at Wartburg, busily engaged in 
translating the Bible, and at times even subjected to 
those mental doubts which had assailed him in the cloister, 
and especially as to whether he was right and the rest of 
the Church wrong, the intellectual ferment throughout 
Germany gathered head. At Wittenberg Melanchthon, 
Luther's bosom friend, forsook his Greek professorship to 
lecture on the Epistles of St. Paul ; and Carlstadt, an old 



I 



MARTIN LUTHER 233 

ally, took Luther's place. Carlstadt was one of the 
acutest intellects of the day. He doubted the Mosaic 
authorship of the Pentateuch, and the identity with their 
original form of the Gospels, as they then existed. He 
attacked celibacy of the clergy, and monasticism, and 
denounced the adoration of the Eucharist and private 
Masses. He was carried onward in his course of destruction 
by the influx from Zwickau of Nicolas Storch, Thomas 
Miinzer, Marcus Stiibner, and their disciples. These men 
believed themselves as much inspired as the writers of the 
Scriptures ; they gained the name of Anabaptists, as they 
ridiculed infant baptism on the ground that infants could 
not have faith. They had been forced to fly from Zwickau 
because they had planned the slaughter of their opponents 
under the idea that the Church had to be purified by blood. 
Luther at Wartburg heard of the Anabaptists. With 
his practical good sense he saw that unless the reforming 
party was saved from the crude social democracy preached 
by the Zwickau extremists, it would be ruined. Braving 
the ban of the empire, in March 1522, he reappeared at 
Wittenberg, and in a course of eight sermons won over the 
town to his side. But it was not only the extremists 
whom Luther had to fight. Scholars and men of artistic 
temperament were repelled by his doctrine that faith was 
everything, for it seemed to deny free will and individual 
merit, and soon he found himself engaged in an argument 
with Erasmus. Meanwhile, a considerable party arose in 
Germany which, desiring a reformation in the Church, 
but looking to a General Council to effect it, refused to 
range itself under Luther's banner. But for the most 
part the laity of Germany grouped themselves either on 
the side of the pope or of Luther. In some cases 
municipal politics decided to which interest a town should 
belong ; in other cases dynastic ambition solved the 
problem. But roughly the partisans of the Latin Church 



234 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

were the inhabitants of the old Roman Empire; where 
Caesar's standards had been planted and military colonies 
established, there the Roman Church prevailed ; elsewhere 
Luther's doctrine gained the day. But the Latin Church 
only retained these possessions by copying the methods 
of its adversaries, by curtailing the privileges of the 
clergy, and by allowing the secular rulers to annex for their 
own use a considerable amount of Church property. 

During the years 1522-1524, the reforming party took 
its political shape. Luther finally converted Frederic of 
Saxony and his brother John, who succeeded him in 1525, 
while Melanchthon won over Philip, Landgrave of Hesse. 
Other notable converts were Casimir, Margrave of 
Brandenburg ; Ulrich, Duke of Wiirtemberg ; and Isabella, 
sister of Charles v. and wife of Christian 11. of Denmark. 
Meanwhile, at the diets held in 1522 and 1524, the pope's 
legates had been unable to enforce the papal decrees against 
Luther, for the diets refused to put into force the Edict of 
Worms ; in fact, in 1524, Cardinal Campeggio was received 
at Augsburg with jeers and insults. Political confusion 
increased, for the diet demanded that a National Synod 
should meet in November, to be followed by a General 
Council. The pope was furious, and the emperor set his 
face against these proposals, for it would mean the forma- 
tion of a German National Church, which might lead to 
the establishment of a national government independent 
of himself. However, a great advance was made towards 
disruption, for Campeggio with the sanction of the pope 
proceeded to organise a meeting of the Catholic princes at 
Ratisbon ; where, in return for their aid against Lutheranism, 
they were granted a fifth of the revenue of the Church in 
their territories. 

What made the situation more threatening was the fact 
that, during the year 1524, there had been great unrest 
among the peasants in Swabia. Like the Peasant Rising 



MARTIN LUTHER 235 

in England during the reign of Richard 11. the revolt was, 
in its origin, due to social causes, to the burden of feudal 
taxes, the vexation of ecclesiastical courts, and other 
exactions. By February 1525, the peasants had risen in 
arms from the left bank of the Rhine to the Tyrol, and 
from the lake of Constance to Thuringia and Saxony. 
Thomas Mtinzer, one of the Zwickau prophets, put himself 
at the head of the rising in Thuringia. As might have been 
expected, hearing that Luther's doctrine proclaimed that 
Christ had made all men free, the peasants demanded that 
all their grievances should be tested by the Word of God. 
Luther's first instinct was to sympathise with them in 
their fight against tyranny, as he had sympathised with 
the knights' revolt in 1522 under Sickingen against the 
electors. But, when the peasants proceeded to acts of 
atrocity, he would no longer lend them any countenance. 
Regardless as ever of his personal safety, he hurried into 
Thuringia, and from pulpit after pulpit he inveighed against 
the insurrection. His sympathies were all on the side of 
law and order, and he was half inclined to think that the 
peasants were mad. 

Luther's action during the Peasant Revolt had far- 
reaching consequences, in that for the future the men of 
the soil turned a deaf ear to the exhortations of the 
Lutheran Church ; in fact, we find Melanchthon confessing 
on one occasion that the people loathed him and his fellow 
divines. On the other hand, it cemented once and for all 
the alliance which had gradually been taking shape between 
the Lutheran states and the Lutheran Church. It was 
only to be expected that Luther's dictum, ' The ass will 
have blows and the people will be ruled by force,' should 
appeal to those in authority. One further result of the 
Peasant Rising was that the Catholic princes became 
convinced that they would never have security or peace 
until heresy was stamped out. Consequently, Duke 



236 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

George of Saxony, the Elector Joachim of Brandenburg, 
Albrecht of Maintz, Duke Henry of Brunswick-Wolfen- 
biittel, and other CathoHc princes met, in July 1526, to 
discuss the formation of a Catholic League. Thereon a 
defence alliance was formed in October between Philip 
of Hesse and the elector, John of Saxony, which was soon 
joined by the Dukes of Brunswick-Liineburg, Henry of 
Mecklenburg, and others. Fortunately for the cause of 
Lutheranism, in spite of his victory over Francis I. at 
Pavia in 1525, Charles was so occupied with Italian 
politics, and with the government of Spain, that he was 
unable to lend his weight to the Catholic League. At a 
diet held at Speyer in 1526, by what was known as the 
Recess, it was determined that each state ' should so live, 
rule, and conduct itself as it shall be ready to answer God 
and his Imperial Majesty/ This was a great step towards 
the ultimate solution of ecclesiastical settlement on the 
lines of territorialism [cujus regio ejus religio). 

But in 1529, three years later, Rome, having been sacked 
(1527), and the pope being a prisoner, the emperor was 
free to turn his attention to Germany, and the Catholic 
cause was once again in the ascendant. The reformers 
had also suffered a great set back owing to the rapid 
spread of the sect of Zwinglians, who were heartily dis- 
liked by Luther as they refused to allow that the Lord's 
Supper was anything more than a memorial service. 
Philip of Hesse, seeing the importance of union among the 
reformers, arranged a meeting at Marburg between Luther 
and Melanchthon on one side and Zwingli and Bucer on 
the other ; but the convention failed owing to Luther's 
stubbornly refusing to make any concession on the question 
of the sacrament. At a second diet held at Speyer the 
Recess was revoked. Thereon John, Elector of Saxony, 
Philip of Hesse, George, Margrave of Brandenburg, Ernst 
of Brunswick-Liineburg, Wolfgang of Anhalt, and fourteen 



MARTIN LUTHER 237 

Imperial cities issued a protest, which earned for them 
and their adherents the title of ' Protestants.' 

The diet and the emperor refused to listen to the protest, 
and a meeting was held at Schmalkalden to consider the 
question of armed resistance ; but Luther's strong feeling 
of obedience to law and order for the moment prevailed, 
and no overt action was taken. In the following year, 
1530, Charles himself was present at a Diet at Augsburg. 
There Melanchthon worked hard to arrive at a compromise 
between Catholics and Lutherans. Luther himself did not 
attend the diet, being still under the ban of the empire, 
and having httle hope of a compromise. Melanchthon, 
indeed, found that there was some chance of agreement 
on the question of dogma, but none on the constitu- 
tion and practices of the Church. The result was the 
Recess of Augsburg, whereby the Protestants were allowed, 
till the following April, to decide whether they would 
return to the Catholic Church. In December the Protestant 
princes responded by forming the League of Schmalkalden. 
Luther was won over from the doctrine of passive 
obedience by 'the argument that the emperor's power 
was not hereditary but elective, that he was bound by the 
capitulations made at his election, and that if he broke 
them he had committed an illegal act, and might therefore 
be resisted. 

Fortune once again turned to the side of the reformers ; 
the Swiss Cantons refused to help the Zwinglians in 
Germany ; this forced the south German cities to join the 
Lutherans. Francis of France was intriguing with the 
Schmalkaldic League ; Soliman, the Turk, was threatening 
Hungary ; and the Algerian pirates in the Mediterranean 
were raiding the sea coast of Italy. Thus, though, in 1531, 
Charles was able to get his brother Ferdinand elected 
King of the Romans, he was in no position to lead a crusade 
against the Lutherans. He was glad to hurry off to meet 



238 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

the Turks, after making the Peace of Niirnberg in 1532, 
whereby all proceedings against the Lutherans in the 
Imperial Chambers were to be suspended until the meeting 
of a General Council. Thus, for the next seven years, 
Protestantism was left to grow unmolested. 

During these years Luther made Wittenberg his head- 
quarters. In March 1525, he had married a lady, 
Catherine von Bora, who had been a nun. The marriage 
was not a love affair, although it ultimately led to much 
conjugal happiness, but it was the outcome of Luther's 
earnest desire to settle the question as to what was to 
become of the monks and nuns who had renounced their 
vows. The CathoUcs were, of course, intensely angered. 
Antichrist, they said, would be the result of such a 
sacrilegious union. To this Erasmus wittily replied, ' If 
so there must have been a good many Antichrists born 
before now.' Luther by now had become a sort of second 
pope. He had managed to prevent the ultra reformers 
from sweeping himself and his party aside ; he had gained 
for the Lutherans the alliance of the rulers of the north 
German states, and he had become the authority for the 
dogma of the Lutheran Church. Kings and princes wrote 
to him for his advice. In 152 1, King Henry of England 
had tried to break a lance with him, and the title of Defender 
of the Faith was a poor reward for the intellectual defeat 
he suffered at the reformer's hands. The system of Church 
government as established by Luther admitted of two 
principles which at times were contradictory, namely, 
that the congregation should have some voice in the 
appointment of its ministers, and that the state should 
also have authority in the matter. He by no means 
desired that there should be any hard and fast rule for 
Church service. He thought that the Scriptures should be 
read with an intelligent exposition, that the Te Deum 
should be sung in the morning and the Magnificat in the 



MARTIN LUTHER 239 

evening service, and that there should be hymns. His 
idea was that worship should be congregational and 
consist of the homage of the spirit and soul of the 
worshippers, in contradistinction to the idea of the 
propitiation of the deity by a priest : in a word, it was to 
be the ministration of the Word, not the performance of 
sacerdotal rites. He was no Puritan, for he said he ' would 
gladly behold all arts, and most of all music, occupying a 
place in the service of Him from whom they draw their 
origin, and who has bestowed them on us as a gift.' All 
the time he could spare from supervising the churches in 
Saxony and giving advice to those who demanded it, he 
devoted to the great work of translating the Bible, and 
to the composition of those hj^mns which are so well 
known. 

In 1532, the Protestants and Luther suffered a severe 
loss by the death of John of Saxony. But in spite of the 
outbreak of the Anabaptists in Miinster in 1534, the cause 
prospered, and, by 1539, the only important Catholic 
states were Austria, Bavaria, the Palatinate, the duchy 
of Brunswick-Wolfenbiittel and the three ecclesiastical 
electorates, and of these the Palatinate soon fell away. 
In this year Charles made great efforts to arrive at an 
understanding with France, whereby he might turn his 
attention to the religious questions in Germany; but, 
finding it hopeless, and faced by war, he summoned a 
Diet at Ratisbon, in 1541, with the purpose of conciliating 
the Protestants. Pope Paul iii. was a sincerely religious 
man, very different from the two Medicean popes, Leo x. 
and Clement vii. ; he sent a legate to Ratisbon, Cardinal 
Contarini, the leader of the evangehcal party at Rome. 
Contarini believed as sincerely in salvation by faith as 
Luther did. It was found that Catholics and Protestants 
could agree on the nature of man, on original sin, on 
redemption, and even upon justification ; and Bucer and 



240 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

Melanchthon, who represented the Protestant divines at 
the diet, were deUghted. 

But as Ranke, the great historian, wrote, ' What had 
been resolved at Regensburg required ratification, on the 
one side from the pope, on the other from Luther/ Paul 
hesitated. Luther refused to ratify the agreement; he 
could not trust the pope. Meanwhile, other influences 
were at work which ruined the compromise. Neither 
Francis nor the pope could afford to allow Charles to 
become master of a united Germany. Thus the last 
chance of reconciliation between the two religious parties 
failed, and Charles was forced to recognise Lutheranism, 
in so far that the Recess of Augsburg was again suspended 
until the meeting of a General Council. Luther was 
furious that the emperor had not openly declared himself 
on the side of the Protestants, and from that time forward 
classed him with the pope. ' To put it in plain German 
words, they have first to make their own peace with God, 
openly confessing what kind of business they have made 
of it in the past : the pope, leading souls in their myriads 
to destruction for six hundred years ; the kaiser, in these 
last twenty, burning, drowning, murdering pious people, 
or letting it be done through his edicts.' Luther's action 
at the Council of Ratisbon was his last political work ; 
he continued working happily at Wittenberg till the 
beginning of the year 1546. In January of that year, 
while at Mansfeld, helping to bring about a reconcihation 
between his friends the counts of that name, he caught a 
severe chill and died of syncope on January 17th, 1546. 

As long as the world lasts and men are concerned with 
religion, so long will controversy rage round the name of 
Doctor Martin Luther. For the lovers of the old order 
will see in him the fell destroyer of much that they hold to 
be beautiful and true, while his followers will boast of him 
as the hammer which smashed the bonds which kept men 



MARTIN LUTHER 241 

bound in the foul dungeon of ignorance and superstition, 
and thus freed for them the way to truth and hght. Be 
that as it may, all must allow that Luther was one of the 
great makers of the world's history, and that a study of 
his character cannot but be interesting, for he is one of 
the very few who have been able to bridle the storm of 
revolution which he himself raised, and pilot his ship into 
the haven where he would be. Had it not been for those 
years when he passed through the fiery ordeal of doubt 
in the monastery at Erfurt, we may be sure he would 
not have been able to stand the strain. But with character 
thus strengthened, with the practical common sense of 
the German peasant, with profound belief in the doctrine 
of obedience — save when conscience forbade — with burning 
zeal for the truth and hatred of sham, with a thorough 
knowledge of human nature gained as an instructor at the 
University of Wittenberg, and a deep insight into the 
art of ecclesiastical administration, derived from his posi- 
tion as Vicar of the Augustinian Eremites, Luther had a 
preparation for his task very similar to that of Wycliffe, 
and infinitely superior to that of Huss. 

The century which had intervened between the age of 
Wycliffe and Huss had quickened the influences which were 
at work on the side of the reformer. The liberal opinions 
disseminated by the Humanists, the degradation of the 
Papacy during the great schism, the temporal aspirations 
of the various popes, the growing greed of the Roman 
Curia, the impotence of the emphe to withstand the papal 
demands, the lack of spirituality in the Church, the world- 
liness of its princes, the depravity of the parish priests 
and the luxury of the monks, had created a situation which 
only awaited the arrival of a leader. Such then were the 
causes of Luther's immediate success when he boldly 
attacked the greatest of the papal abuses. 

Having had the courage to open the attack, Luther had 

Q 



242 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

the foresight to perceive that his ultimate chance of success 
lay in the sympathy of the townsfolk and in the alliance 
with the princes. It is on this point that he has been most 
severely criticised. First, because he set his face against 
the peasant revolt ; and secondly, because of the counte- 
nance which he gave to the bigamous marriage of Philip 
of Hesse. These are two grave indictments, but on the 
first head we must remember that Luther had seen with 
his own eyes whither the tenets of the Zwickau brethren 
led. With his instinctive admiration for authority, when 
he believed that authority had the sanction of the 
Scriptures, he could not help shrinking from the anarchy 
which he saw was bound to follow from democratic 
and religious doctrines preached by men, who, claim- 
ing to be inspired, acknowledged no restraint, not even 
that of the Scriptures. Whatever the sentimentalist 
may say, practical men in all ages will decide that he 
was right. On the other hand, the second indictment can- 
not easily be refuted. No doubt Luther and Melanchthon 
could quote numerous instances from the Old Testa- 
ment to prove that in those ages the Jews, the chosen 
people, were not bound by the law of monogamy ; but the 
tact remains that Luther and the other Protestant divines 
tacitly acknowledged that their advice was more or less 
that of expediency and contrary to principle, in that they 
recommended that this second marriage should be kept 
a secret. 

In his family life Luther was affectionate and simple. 
He was a kind though somewhat irascible husband, 
subject to fits of great irritation and depression. He was 
passionately devoted to children, and he loved nothing 
better than playing with them and telling them fairy tales. 
Like all German peasants he was grossly superstitious, as 
far as the devil was concerned. All the little trials of life, 
all strange and unaccountable noises, all bad attacks of 



MARTIN LUTHER 243 

indigestion and subsequent nightmare, he firmly attributed 
to the inventive genius of the devil. But he never allowed 
this superstition to overawe him ; for courage was not 
what he lacked, and, as he said, nothing annoys the devil 
more than contempt. His friends and his scholars, and 
all with whom he came in contact, adored him: for he had 
the divine gift of sympathy, and in the midst of the 
momentous crises of his life he ever found time to do a 
good turn to any one who stood in need ; often his wife 
had to lament that there was not a bite in the house nor a 
thing to pawn, since her husband had given away every- 
thing that he possessed. 

Compared with Erasmus and Melanchthon, Luther had 
but little scholarship. His was the downright rather 
coarse mind of the peasant, which does not possess the 
power of delicate criticism, and which when thwarted tries 
to crush its opponent by invective and abuse. But he 
had the faculty of grasping broad issues, and of assimilating 
and putting into practical form what he had learned. His 
translation of the Bible ranks in Germany as one of the 
finest pieces of literature, and is worthy to be compared 
with the English authorised version. His famous hymn, 
' Eine teste Burg ist unser Gott,' is known to all the world. 
To us, no doubt, his doctrine of predestination seems grim 
and harsh, but we must remember that Luther's religion 
was not the dark self-introspection of the Puritan, but a 
joyful trust in God. He did not regard human delights 
and pleasures as vain and false, but he saw in them the 
mercy of God and thankfully enjoyed them. Thus, when 
overburdened by the care of the churches, he found his 
recreation in nature. ' I have planted a garden,' he wrote 
to one of his friends, ' I have built a fountain. Come, 
and you will be crowned with lihes and roses.' 

When the end came he departed peacefully, and his 
last word was to reply * yes ' to a friend who asked him, 



244 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

* Reverend father, do you remain in the faith of Christ and 
the doctrine you have preached ? ' Thus he died as he 
had Hved, and Germany mourned for one who, whatever 
his faults may have been, had boldly undertaken the task 
laid on him by his conscience ; and, spurning the terrors of 
death, had stood forth as the great spiritual prophet of the 
Reformation. 



i 



PHILIP II 

In the preceding chapter we have seen how, thanks to the 
indomitable courage of Luther, a certain section of the 
German people threw off the shackles of the Papacy and 
developed a religion and a sj^stem of Church government 
which we now always classify as Protestant. We also 
remember that many of the causes which led to the 
German Reformation were by no means local but uni- 
versal ; that to some extent they had been responsible 
for the summoning of the Council of Constance, a century 
earlier, and that at Rome itself there was a considerable 
party which was anxious for reform. But the Catholic 
party which favoured reform was not homogeneous, but 
divided into two distinct sections. The one, represented 
by men like Contarini, and, in his early days, Reginald 
Pole, desiring conciliation with the Protestants, eagerly 
sought for common grounds on which the old and new 
ideas might find harmony : the other, while fully as 
desirous for the reform of abuses, shrank with horror from 
an3'^ interference with what it considered the true dogma 
of the Catholic Church. As we have seen, Contarini failed 
in his efforts to arrive at some form of conciliation at 
Ratisbon in 1541, and his want of success threw discredit 
on his followers. Five years later — almost immediately 
after Luther's death — thanks to his temporary accom- 
modation with the Papacy and with France, and to dis- 
putes between the Protestant princes, notably the dis- 
affection of Maurice of Saxony, the emperor, Charles 

245 



246 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

v., was enabled to take up arms against the Schmalkaldic 
League. The battle of Muhlberg, and the capture of the 
elector, John of Saxony, virtually brought the war to an 
end. But even then Charles was not strong enough to 
stamp out Lutheranism, and was forced to make some 
slight concessions. Meanwhile, the king of France and 
the pope viewed wdth dismay his temporary supremacy 
in Germany, and, in 1552, Henry of France began to 
intrigue with the Protestant princes. Maurice of Saxony, 
disgusted with Charles' lack of good faith, entered into the 
conspiracy, and, by 1555, the Protestants had once again 
got the upper hand. A diet was summoned at Augsburg, 
where it was arranged that the Protestants and Catholics 
should be equally represented in the Imperial Chamber, 
and that the maxim, cujus regio ejus religio, should be 
the law of the empire; that is to say, the state religion, of 
each principality in Germany, should be that of its ruler. 

While these events were in progress there had been 
sitting, more or less continuously from 1545 onwards, a 
General Council at Trent, a town in German territory to the 
south of the Brenner Pass. This council had been sum- 
moned by the pope, Paul iii. (Alessandro Farnese), for 
the purpose of defining the dogmas of the Catholic Church, 
and for reforming abuses within the Church itself. The 
pope had intended that the former should be its chief 
business, but he had been forced by pressure from the 
emperor to include the latter, although he was exceedingly 
afraid lest the council should infringe on his prerogatives. 
Thanks, however, to the clever management of his legates, 
he was able to control the council, since they arranged 
that voting should be by individuals not by nations as at 
Constance. Hence it was always comparatively easy to 
gain every important point by flooding the council with 
Italian bishops. Meanwhile, from the point of view of 
doctrine, the papal party received strong reinforcement 



PHILIP II 247 

from the newly formed Society of Jesus. It was due to 
the scheme of education and subordination instituted by 
their founder, Ignatius Loyola, that the Jesuits were 
masters not only of learning but also of intrigue. The 
position of the Church had further been considerably 
strengthened by reform from within, the result of the 
widespread feeling throughout the western world that 
doctrine should bear on life and conduct. Thus from the 
Franciscans, the most corrupt of all the older orders in 
Italy, sprang the reformed order of the Capuchins; and 
the secular clergy were elevated by fraternities like the 
Theatines, whose object was by their own example to 
reform the lives of the parish priests. While the Catholic 
party was thus gaining strength, in 1542, an engine had 
been devised for the destruction of its opponents. This 
was the famous Inquisition. Its organisation was based 
on that created in Spain, in 1483, by Ferdinand and Isabella. 
Twelve cardinals were appointed as universal inquisitors. 
They had the power of delegating their authority, and 
from the courts thus formed there was no appeal save to 
the pope. All were subject to the jurisdiction of these 
courts, which had the power of torture, of imprisonment, of 
confiscation, and of life and death, and overrode all civil 
powers in the countries which acquiesced in their jurdis- 
diction. Such was the instrument prepared for heretics. 

In spite, therefore, of the victory of the Protestants in 
Germany, in 1555, it was clear that there would be no 
toleration for them within the Catholic Church. That 
body with its new police, the Jesuits, and its new weapon, 
the Inquisition, was no longer standing on the defensive, 
but on the eve of entering on a new war for the recon- 
quest of all that it had lost in the preceding thirty years. 
This campaign we know under the name of the Counter 
Reformation, and the great figure in the strife is Philip ii., 
King of Spain. 



248 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

Philip, son of the Emperor Charles v., was born at 
Valladolid on May 21st, 1527 ; he was the offspring of the 
marriage of first cousins, both his parents being grand- 
children of Ferdinand and Isabella. His grandmother, 
Joanna the Mad, had passed a life in melancholy torpor ; 
his father Charles v. was possessed of the gross appetite 
and heavy passions of the Hapsburgs ; his mother Isabella 
came of the same stock, and was the offspring of generations 
of consanguineous marriages. Philip therefore inherited 
a tainted blood, and it was no wonder that the hereditary 
gloom and religious exaltation of his forebears showed 
themselves at an early age in his person. The dominating 
influence in his life was the obsession that he was the 
chosen instrument of God, a sort of ' junior partner of 
Providence.' Slow, laborious, with his Pie de flomo 
or leaden foot and indomitable patience, he followed what 
he considered was his divine mission, expecting no reward, 
cast down by no failure, seeing in both good fortune and 
ill fortune the impenetrable wisdom of God. His education 
and training did nothing to relieve his naturally gloomy 
and fantastic characteristics. From his earliest days he 
heard of nought save wars against infidels and heretics. 
He was surrounded by priests invoking the favour of 
heaven on his father's arms engaged in destroying the 
enemies of God. Lacking his father's bodity vigour, 
ceaselessly reminded of his great destiny, carefully trained 
to suspect all around him, he grew up crafty, over-cautious 
and laborious, but destitute of all breadth of vision. 

At an early age Charles made the boy his confidant. 
It was a bad training for such a youth, for the emperor 
was a master of the arts of dissimulation and of sowing 
distrust among his subordinates. He wrote to his ten- 
year old son, warning him against his tutor : * Siliceo has 
certainly not been the most fitting teacher for you. He 
has been too desirous of pleasing you. I hope to God it 



PHILIP II 249 

was not for his own ends.' The young prince grew up a 
Spaniard of the Spaniards, and, in spite of his education 
in Latin, French and ItaHan, unable to express himself in 
any language except his own ; but wdthal grave, punctilious 
and proud. 

In November 1543 Philip was married to his cousin, 
Maria of Portugal. The bride w^as his own choice. His 
father had suggested Margaret, daughter of Francis of 
France, but allowed Philip to have his w^ay, as part of his 
policy was to bind Portugal to the interests of Spain. 
Philip, in spite of his gravity, was boy enough to go out 
in disguise to meet his future wiie, a bright, plump little 
creature, whose short married life of eleven months w^as 
full of happiness on both sides. She died in giving birth 
to a son, Don Carlos. Philip, broken down by grief at her 
death, for three weeks shut himself up in a monastery, 
returning from there to plunge himself into the business 
of politics, for which he was being so carefully trained by 
his father. Charles' original aim w^as to consolidate a 
religiously united Christendom under a Spanish Caesar. 
The cession of the Austrian possessions of the Hapsburgs 
to his brother Ferdinand, in 1521, and the growing import- 
ance of that branch of the family, proved that that idea 
was no longer feasible. He, accordingl}^ determined to 
concentrate his efforts on building up for his son Philip 
a Spanish kingdom which should be composed of Spain, 
Italy, and the Netherlands. For this purpose it w-as 
necessary to have the friendship of England, because a 
hostile England threatened the flank of the Netherlands in 
the event of hostilities with France. Recognising his son's 
abihty and ready absorption of his own ideas, as early as 
May 1543 he had entrusted him with the regency of Spain ; 
and in 1546, in pursuance of his scheme, he granted hijn 
the vacant dukedom of Milan. Sicil}^ and Naples had for 
many years been attached to the Spanish crown. 



250 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

In obedience to his father's commands, in 1548, PhiHp 
got ready to make a tour of inspection of his new dominions. 
But, before he started, Charles compelled him to inaugurate 
a system which was to prove one of the prime factors 
in the break-up of the great Spanish monarchy. The idea 
was to divert the attention of the Spanish nobles from 
local affairs by tempting them to the court in the position 
of officers and equerries, and thus to give the crown 
an opportunity of establishing a centralised despotism, 
whereby the king should become complete master of the 
lives and property of his subjects. Philip loathed pomp 
and ceremony, but his mind was completely attuned to 
that of his father, and he saw clearly the advantage to 
be gained by sacrificing his own inclinations. Thus the 
proud young hidalgos were tempted from an open air 
life of pleasant usefulness to a meretricious existence of 
absolute idleness. 

It is impossible to conceive the devotion that was felt 
throughout Spain for the young prince. Andrea Doria, 
the great Genoese sailor, only voiced this feeling when 
as he knelt to meet him on his embarking at Rosas he 
exclaimed, ' Now, Lord, let thy servant depart in peace, 
for his eyes have seen thy salvation.' In Italy also Philip 
was received with enthusiasm, and the pope thought fit 
to send a sanctified sword to the son of his old enemy, 
' hoping that some day he might behold in him the true 
champion of the Holy Church.' 

From Italy Philip proceeded through the Tyrol, Germany 
and Luxemburg to Brussels, where, on April ist, he met his 
father. He remained there for the next two years, receiv- 
ing every day two hours' instruction from him in the art of 
statecraft, of how to balance one great man against another, 
of how to resist the influence of personal friends ; in a 
word, of how to concentrate everything in his own hands, 
to supervise personally every detail, and to trust nobody. 



PHILIP II 251 

These two years were probably the happiest of Charles' 
life ; he saw his son growing up in his own footsteps, 
imbued with the ideas which he himself cherished, while 
the complete collapse of the Lutherans after the battle of 
Miihlberg seemed to portend the disappearance of the 
heretics. Philip left for Spain, in May 1551, before the 
disaffection of Maurice of Saxony and the revival of the 
Schmalkaldic League. He was heartily glad to return 
home. He hated alike the pomp of his father's court and 
the drunken orgies of the Flemings. His first business 
on arriving in Spain was to arrange for his own marriage 
with Maria of Portugal, aunt of his former wife. With 
the revolt of the Lutherans this proposed marriage became 
more desirable tlian ever, for her dowry would have proved 
a substantial aid when money was in so much demand. 
But Ruy Gomez, Phihp's only confidant, was unable to 
persuade the king of Portugal to loosen his purse strings, 
and in July 1553 an event occurred which completely'' 
altered the political situation — Edward vi. of England died 
and was succeeded by his half-sister Mary, the grand- 
daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella. With her accession 
there came a CathoHc revival in England, and the oppor- 
tunity of drawing that country into the orbit of Spain. 

The emperor's first step was to send an ambassador to 
England to urge the queen to hold her hand, and to do 
nothing rash until she had sounded pubhc opinion ; the 
next was to insinuate that in Philip she would find just 
the husband she desired. ' Do not overpress her,' wrote 
Granvelle, Charles' secretary, ' to divert her from any other 
match, because if she has the whim she will carry it forward, 
if she be like other women.' Meanwhile, Philip was warned 
of the proposed change. He had contracted domestic 
arrangements with a certain Doiia Isabel de Osorio. but 
like the dutiful son he was, he wrote : ' I have no other 
will than that of your Majesty, and whatever you desire 



252 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

that I will do/ In January 1554, a splendid embassy was 
sent to London to demand the queen's hand, The city 
was in a perfect whirlwind of panic, for Noailles, the French 
ambassador, had for months been fighting against the 
proposed match, by spreading terrible stories as to what 
would result from it ; how the people would be subjected 
to the terrible Inquisition, how all confiscated Church 
property would be reclaimed, and how England would be- 
come a mere province of Spain. 

On the last point the English Council had views of their 
own, and when Philip arrived, in July 1554, with magnificent 
presents for his bride and her ladies, he found himself, 
after the marriage ceremony in Winchester Cathedral, little 
better than his wife's usher. On the day of his wedding 
Charles had created him King of Naples, but this rather 
irritated than conciliated the populace. * He had only 
come,* said the Londoners, * to beget an heir to the crown, 
and then he might go — the sooner the better.' Philip 
expressed the situation to his father in the words, * The 
real rulers of this country are not the monarchs but the 
council.' 

As long as Philip remained in England his restraining 
influence prevented Mary's bigotry, for he was a statesman 
first, a churchman afterwards, and he saw the inexpediency 
of startling public opinion by a too sudden attempt to restore 
the country to the bosom of the Catholic Church. Both 
he and his chaplains did their best to withstand the fiery 
zeal of the English bishops, who desired to commence 
burning the heretics. Charles wrote on the subject, ' If 
this precipitancy be not moderated affairs will assume a 
dangerous appearance.' Meanwhile, the queen had fallen 
deeply in love with her Spanish husband, and he was far 
too cautious a gentleman to show how little he reciprocated 
the affection. Time after time Mary fondly hoped she was 
with child, but, by August 1555, it became clear that the 



PHILIP II 253 

hope of an heir was vain, and in that month PhiUp left 
England. He and his father had to acknowledge that 
their English policy had been a failure. Six months later 
Mary set the seal to it by sanctioning the outburst of fury 
against her Protestant subjects, which to this day entitles 
her to the epithet of ' Bloody/ The net result of the 
marriage was that England lost Calais, and that Spain in 
the long run turned an old friend into a bitter foe. 

From England Philip proceeded to the Netherlands to 
meet his father, who, though but still a comparatively 
young man, was breaking down beneath the burden of 
responsibility which he had insisted on bearing on his 
shoulders. In October Charles resigned the sovereignty 
of the Netherlands in favour of his son, and in January 
transferred to him the crown of Spain, retaining for himself 
the nominal title of emperor. Then in the following 
month (February 1556), after arranging a five years' 
truce with the king of France, he retired to Spain to the 
monastery of Juste, where he, spent the remaining two 
years of his Hfe. 

Philip now stood alone. He was in a stronger position 
than his father had ever been, for he was not hampered by 
the Imperial crown ; but, like his father, he was dogged by 
an absolutely crushing want of funds. From the first he 
learned how difficult was the task before him. The pope, 
Paul IV. (Caraffa), a Neapolitan by birth, thought that the 
abdication of the emperor was his opportunity. * The 
French,' he said, ' may be easily dislodged, but the 
Spaniards are like dog-grass, which seems to strike root 
wherever it is cast.' He accordingly set himself to tempt 
the king of France to break the truce he had just signed. 
Thereon Philip ordered the Duke of Alva, the Governor of 
Naples, to bring the pope to his knees, while he himself 
attacked the French from the Netherlands. The campaign 
in northern France proved successful. In August 1557, 



254 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

the French were crushed at St. Ouentin, and their troops 
had hurriedly to be recalled from Italy. Nothing stood 
between Paris and the victorious Spaniards. But Philip 
hesitated. Tlie opportunity passed, and although the 
pope deserted his allies the war dragged on for another 
year, the French gaining some slight successes, including 
the capture of Calais and Guisnes from the English. Peace 
was at last made, in April 1559, at Cateau-Cambresis, on 
the terms that France was to evacuate Italy, but to retain 
the three bishoprics of Metz, Verdun and Toul ; while 
Philip became master of Italy, surrendering in his turn all 
conquests in Picardy. The treaty was to be further 
cemented by the marriage of Philip (Mary had died in 
155S) to Elizabeth, daughter of Henry 11. of France, a 
girl only thirteen years old. 

In August 1559, Philip returned to his beloved Spain 
never again to leave it. His position seemed magnificent. 
In addition to the crown of Spain, he was King of Sicily 
and Naples, Duke of Milan, master of Franche Comte and 
the Netherlands, Lord of the islands of Cape Verde and 
the Canaries, and of Oran, Tunis, and other places on the 
north African coast. In the Pacific he owned the 
Philippines, and save Brazil he claimed all the western 
coast of America, including the islands of the Gulf of 
Mexico and the kingdoms of Mexico and Peru. The 
Spaniards had the reputation of being the richest nation 
on the face of the earth, and their infantry was supposed 
to be invincible. But in spite of this seeming omnipotence 
his position had many vulnerable points. 

Spain was no longer the wealthy country she had been. 
The wars of Charles v. had drained her revenues. Her 
system of taxation was bad. It depended on the Alcabala, 
which was a ten per cent tax on the sale of all com- 
modities, and on the Milliones, a like tax on food. These 
taxes together with the stringent local tolls had steadily 



PHILIP II 255 

crippled her manufacturing industries. The prestige of 
the Spanish people was due in no small measure to the 
feeling of religious exaltation which had been so carefully 
fostered by Ferdinand and Isabella, and which caused the 
Spaniards to believe that the}^ were the chosen people of 
God, But such a fervour was very likely to develop into 
blind superstition, and, once the spirit was gone, in its 
place came formalism, followed by stagnation and loss of 
prestige. Unfortunatety, as we shall see, these causes of 
national decay were hastened by Philip's personality and 
policy. Further, owing to her great possessions Spain 
was an object of envy and of dread to the other powers ; 
while, from the geographical position of her territories, she 
lay open to attack on all sides. Added to this, in the 
Netherlands Philip was personally unpopular ; he was no 
true Burgundian like his father, but a Spaniard pure and 
simple. His first step as sovereign had been to propose to 
divide the three unwieldy bishoprics of the Low Countries 
into fourteen new dioceses under three archbishops. This 
involved a great tampering with vested interests. More- 
over, his rigorous measures against the heretics were by no 
means popular in many of the northern provinces. The 
Flemings also were exceedingly disgusted at his leaving 
behind him 4000 Spanish troops whom he had not sufficient 
funds to pay. In addition, his measures, taken with a 
view to centralise the government, were unpopular, especi- 
ally with the nobles. Phihp was keen enough to put his 
finger on the real centre of disaffection. As he was about 
to embark the young Prince of Orange began to blame the 
states-general ; but Philip turned on him with the 
words, * No ! not the states, but you ! you ! you ! ' 

In Italy for the moment the thunder cloud had lightened. 
Paul IV. died almost the day the king left Flanders, being 
succeeded by Pius iv. {Angelo de' Medici), a much more 
pliant pontiff. This was fortunate indeed, for Philip, 



256 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

though he was the most orthodox of CathoUcs and the 
most rehgious of men, had but httle respect for the Papacy. 
The Inquisition in Spain had hitherto been jealously- 
guarded from the pope ; it was essentially a royal instru- 
ment. The Spanish bishops were appointed regardless 
of St. Peter, and were the servants of * God and your 
Majesty ' — the formula which so well expressed Philip's 
conception of his own place in the universe. It was this 
attitude not only in Spain, but also in Italy, which had 
aggravated the bitter enmity between him and the late 
pontiff. The Church in Spain was in fact a semi-political 
institution which Philip regarded as a department of the 
state, especially concerned with keeping order : for in his 
experience resistance to authority and heresy had been 
practically synonymous terms. Thus it was that his 
first public appearance after his return to Spain was at 
an auto-da-fe at Valladolid, where twelve gentlemen of 
high birth were burned to death in his presence and that 
of the court. * How is it that a gentleman like you can 
hand over another gentleman such as I am to these friars ? ' 
cried out one of the condemned. ' If my son was as 
perverse as you are I would carry the faggots myself to 
burn him,' replied the king. As if to emphasise this fact 
he had allowed Carranza, the Archbishop of Toledo, to 
be arrested by the Inquisition, and for years he resisted 
all the efforts of the Papacy to free the unfortunate 
ecclesiastic. 

While Philip was thus foreshadowing his domestic policy, 
and gradually through his secretaries of state gathering 
all the strings of government into his own hands, abroad 
important events were following one another in quick 
succession. Henry ii. of France died from an accident at 
a tournament held to celebrate the marriage of his daughter 
Elizabeth with Philip. This placed Francis ii. with his 
Queen, Mary Stuart, on the throne. Thereon Ehzabeth 



PHILIP II 257 

of England, endangered by this seeming union of France 
and Scotland, struck quickly, and the French and Scottish 
forces were driven to capitulate, early in 1560, at Leith, at 
the very moment Philip was meeting his young French 
bride. EHzabeth knew that in this action she would 
not be opposed by Spain, for Philip would never allow 
France to conquer England. But a few months later the 
situation underwent a complete change, for, in December 
1560, Francis 11. died. Philip had now to deal with two 
women, Elizabeth of England and Catherine de' Medici, 
Queen Mother of France. Both these ladies were engaged 
in the difficult game of balancing the Protestant party 
against the Catholic ; each was faced by a powerful foe — 
Elizabeth by Mary of Scotland, Catherine by the Duke 
of Guise. It was obvious therefore that Philip could 
checkmate any move on the part of either England or 
France by lending temporary aid either to Mary or to 
Guise. Thus he considered he had time to enforce rehgious 
uniformity and strict obedience within his own dominions 
before he engaged on his new ambitious policy of rooting 
out heresy in England, France, and the empire. 

While Phihp thought he could afford to hold his hand 
against England and France, he was obliged to take 
immediate steps to secure his position in the Mediterranean. 
The Moslems and the Barbary pirates were harrying the 
coasts of Sicily, Naples and Spain. Already Tripoli, the 
African stronghold of the knights of Malta, had fallen. 
What was needed was a short sharp blow. But this was 
just the thing that Philip's system of administration 
rendered impossible : by the time the details had been 
arranged in his cabinet, had been sent to his admirals, 
Medina Cell and Gian Doria, had been referred back again 
for further instructions, a year passed by. The pirates 
had ample knowledge of the expedition, and time to 
oppose it with superior force. Panic seized the Spanish 

R 



258 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

fleet ; 5000 men and 65 vessels surrendered. How- 
ever, 8000 soldiers and sailors held out on the island of 
Los Gelves off the coast of Tripoli, and made amends for 
this disgrace ; for, when after six weeks' siege the pirates 
assaulted the position only 1000 men were left alive, 
and these all died fighting in the breach. For eleven 
years the pirates held the Mediterranean : in 1565 Malta 
all but fell. The blight of Philip's rule had so paralysed 
the Spanish system of administration that the relieving 
fleet only arrived just as the island was on the point of 
surrender. Yet, when the disastrous news was told to Philip 
he showed no sign of despair ; just as later, after the victory 
of Lepanto, he showed no elation. It was part of the 
mj^sterious plans of God, and he who was fighting God's 
battles was sure to win in the end. 

In Spain itself Philip pursued his relentless policy, which, 
we must remember, was in no way distasteful to the 
majority of his subejcts. The struggle with the Moslem 
and the Barbary pirates, not unnaturally, turned public 
attention to the Moriscoes, or semi-Christianised Moors 
who inhabited Andalusia. With the double object of 
compelling them to become better Catholics and of prevent- 
ing them from helping the enemy, several edicts were 
issued against them between 1560-1567. The first was to 
forbid the importation of negro slaves on the ground that 
the number of infidels was thus constantly increased : the 
next ordinance prohibited the possession of arms without 
a licence from the captain-general : then followed a 
succession of edicts denouncing national dances, ordering 
the women to appear unveiled, insisting on Christian 
weddings, and forbidding baths on the ground of licentious- 
ness. The net result was that all the most cherished 
customs of the Moriscoes were attacked, and the duty of 
enforcing these ordinances was entrusted to the Inquisition. 
As might have been expected, a revolt broke out. The 



PHILIP II 259 

Moriscoes elected as their king Aben-Humeya, a scion of 
their ancient royal house, and for eighteen months the 
insurrection lasted. If the conciliatory advice of the 
Marquis de Mondejar had been accepted the rebellion 
would probably have been speedily quelled, for the Turks 
were too much occupied in Cyprus to assist the Moriscoes. 
But Diego Deza, auditor of the holy office, gained the 
day. A war of cruel reprisals ensued, and was only brought 
to an end, in May 1569, after a large force had been 
mobilised and placed under the command of Don John, 
the king's half-brother. The terms offered to the rebels 
were hard, but there was nothing for it but to accept them ; 
and the whole Moorish population was transferred from 
the warm valleys and plains of Andalusia to the wind- 
swept uplands of Castile, Estremadura and Galicia. 

While the war with the Moriscoes had not yet ended, 
a messenger arrived from Pope Pius v. praying for help 
against the Moslems. The Turks were concentrating 
their efforts against Cyprus : Venice was in despair at the 
probable capture of that island, and the danger seemed 
really to threaten all Christian powers on the Mediter- 
ranean. This crisis was partly due to the fact that the 
Christians had often for political purposes allied themselves 
with the Moslems. But Philip had never been guilty of 
such inconsistency. As usual he moved slowly, and it 
was not till May 1571, that a league was formed of Venice, 
the pope, and Spain with the object of making a perpetual 
alliance against the Turks and the Moors of Tunis, 
Tripoli and Algiers. The treaty came too late to save 
Cyprus, for on July 30th Famagusta fell and Bragadino, 
its commander, was flayed alive, his skin being sent to 
Constantinople as a trophy. However, by October the 
allied fleet took the sea, and located the enemy in the 
Gulf of Lepanto or Corinth. The Christian fleet under 
Don John was composed of 264 vessels of all sizes with 



26o LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

29,000 soldiers and 50,000 sailors and rowers, while the 
Turks had 300 vessels and 120,000 men. Doria and the 
other commanders under Don John were afraid of attacking 
in the open the Moslems, hitherto unbeaten at sea. But 
Don John was full of fervour and zeal at the thought of 
leading the hosts of Christ against the infidel. His burning 
enthusiasm was contagious, and as he rowed round the 
fleet exhorting his men with the words — * Christ is your 
general ! The hour of vengeance has come ! You are 
come to fight the battle of the Cross, to conquer or to die ! ' 
— men felt they were engaged in a holy mission. Though 
the seamanship of Doria and of Santa Cruz did much to 
help, the result was in no small manner due to Don John's 
personality. It was a magnificent victory ; after a few 
hours' fight only 50 of the enemy's ships escaped, and 
12,000 Christian galley-slaves were recaptured. 

Philip received the glorious news when at vespers, 
read the despatch, but said nothing until service was over. 
Such was his self-control and his firm belief in the part 
which he played under Providence. It was well that he 
had thus suppressed all passion, for he had but lately been 
tried to the uttermost. In October 1568, his beloved wife 
Elizabeth died, leaving two little girls ; but this was not 
the only misfortune he had been called upon to bear in 
that year. His only son Don Carlos had grown up a lame, 
stunted, uncontrollable, nervous epileptic, who attempted 
on one occasion to murder Cardinal Espinosa, and on 
another to put an end to the Duke of Alva. The mad 
prince threatened his uncle Don John, and made attacks on 
inoffensive citizens in the streets. He openly mocked 
and derided his father, and ultimately absolutely refused 
to obey him. In the end, in January 1568, there was 
nothing for it but to arrest the lunatic. ' It was not a 
punishment,' wrote Philip to his aunt ; ' if it was, there 
would be some limit to it ; but I never hope to see my 



PHILIP II 261 

son restored to his right mind again. I have chosen in 
this manner to make a sacrifice to God of my own flesh and 
blood, preferring His service and the universal good to all 
other human considerations.' There followed some sort 
of investigation by the king's counsellors, but from the day 
of his arrest the prince was never seen in public again, and 
nobody can say whether he was strangled by his father's 
order, or died a natural death from the effects of disease. 

We have seen how, in 1559, Philip left the Netherlands 
bitterly discontented ; and how, owing to lack of money, 
he was unable to withdraw the 4000 Spanish troops. 
His sister Margaret, Duchess of Parma, had been appointed 
governess of the country, and her chief adviser was 
Granvelle, Bishop of Arras, obnoxious as a foreigner and 
also on account of his ostentation. Even when the troops 
had been withdrawn irritation remained. The nobles 
resented the government of Granvelle, and the people at 
large were disgusted by heavy taxation. Further, the 
Catholic party was displeased with the reorganisation of 
the dioceses, and the Protestants were daily becoming 
stronger in the northern provinces, and even in Hainault on 
the French frontier. Philip urged his sister to severity 
against the heretics, but the only result was that the people 
of Valenciennes broke open the prisons and released them. 
By 1563 the situation became impossible. Led by 
Egmont and Horn the nobles banded themselves together 
to secure the overthrow of Granvelle and demanded a 
meeting of the states-general. The king had for the 
moment to bow to the storm ; but he had no intention of 
giving up his scheme of governing the Netherlands as a 
Spanish province, and while soothing Egmont with fair 
words he made his preparations, and sent strict orders to 
Margaret that nothing was to be changed. Meanwhile, 
thousands of industrious Flemish merchants and weavers 
were emigrating to England, but this in Philip's opinion 



262 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

was no great loss ; it only left fewer heretics for him to deal 
with in the Netherlands. Margaret wrote to him that to 
fulfil his orders would mean the casting of 60,000 to 70,000 
heretics into the flames. When Philip at last took the 
trouble to reply he asked her, ' Why all these disquietudes ? 
Are not my instructions understood ? Is it believed that 
I have any intentions other than the service of God and 
the good of the states ? * 

It was the Inquisition which brought matters to a 
head. So far the resistance had been mainly constitutional 
on the part of the nobles, who disliked the centralisation 
of the Spanish system of government. But now the 
bourgeoisie stood shoulder to shoulder with the nobles, 
swearing that no more of their brethren should be burned 
by the Papists. A confederation was formed, early in 
1566, under the leadership of Louis of Nassau (William of 
Orange's brother), Henry Viscount of Brederode, Philip of 
Marnix, lord of St. Aldegonde, and Nicolas de Hames. 
They petitioned the regent to suspend the Inquisition 
and to summon the states-general. Amid the wordy 
warfare that ensued the party became labelled with the 
nickname of ' The Beggars ' — a name to be revered by all 
patriotic Dutchmen. When Philip heard of these events 
he saw that Margaret must be superseded, and sent in her 
place the famous Duke of Alva, vowing that, ' before 
allowing any backsliding in religion or in the service of 
God, I will lose all my dominions and a hundred lives if 
I had them, for I will never be a ruler of heretics.' 

Alva's government of the Netherlands lasted from 1567 
to 1573. It was marked by such measures against heretics 
as must have warmed Philip's heart. Egmont and Horn 
were enticed by fair promises, arrested, tried by a packed 
bench of judges, and executed. But, though the southern 
provinces were crushed and remained for ever Catholic, 
the northern provinces, thanks to the leadership of William 



PHILIP II 263 

of Orange and the judicious, though always scanty help of 
Elizabeth of England, shook off the Spanish rule, and 
established for themselves a national Protestant govern- 
ment. The siege of Haarlem (December 9th, 1572 to 
July 14th, 1573) taught Philip that his system had failed, 
for though he had gained the town he had not crushed 
the Protestant cause, and his troops broke into mutin}^ 
for lack of pay. Accordingly, in November 1573, he 
recalled Alva, who had earned the detestation of * Catholics 
as well as Protestants, of the clergy as well as the laity,' 
and he sent in his place Don Louis de Requesens, with 
orders to try and win back the Netherlands by concihatory 
measures. It was too late. When the new governor 
offered terms to the town of Leyden he was met with the 
cry, ' Rather Turks than Papists, better be drowned than 
taken.' So the Dutch provinces completely broke with 
the Spanish rule ; thanks, however, to the pacific measures 
of de Requesens and to the preponderance of Catholics 
the Flemish provinces were saved. But the difficulties 
he had to overcome were so great that the strain killed de 
Requesens, who died in despair in 1576. Meanwhile, the 
Spanish troops had not been paid for months, and had 
become mere plundering bands of robbers. 

To meet this situation Philip's half-brother, Don John, 
the new governor, was hurriedly despatched over land, 
through France, disguised as a Moorish slave. During the 
interregnum, on November 4th, 1576, the mutineers fell 
on Antwerp, butchered some 6000 unfortunate inhabitants, 
and stole property to the extent of 6,000,000 ducats. This 
massacre, known as the ' Spanish Fury,' sealed the down- 
fall of Spain in the Netherlands, Delegates from all the 
provinces met at Ghent, and a treaty or pacification was 
made, whereby it was agreed that the Spaniards should at 
all hazards be expelled from the Netherlands. So Don 
John met with but little more fortune than his predecessor. 



264 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

He complicated the situation by intriguing with the mal- 
contents in England, and by deserting the principle of 
conciliation. Philip was furious with his headstrong 
half-brother, and not only stopped supplies, but com- 
pounded with the Flemish behind his back. So strained 
had the situation become that when, in October 1578, Don 
John died of fever, men whispered that he was another 
victim of Philip's poisoners. His death allowed Philip 
to appoint the Duke of Parma as regent in the Nether- 
lands, 

During the whole of the struggle between Spain and the 
Netherlands England had nominally stood aloof. But 
from the commencement of Ehzabeth's reign, English 
sailors had freely plundered the Spanish treasure-ships, 
and in reality English money and English soldiers had 
done much to secure the independence which the Dutch 
provinces gained for themselves under the leadership of 
William of Orange. At the commencement of his reign 
Philip, following the policy of Ferdinand and Isabella, 
had aimed at preventing England from falling into the 
French orbit. Even after Mary Stuart had surrendered 
to Elizabeth, in 1568, while assenting to the insurrection 
of the northern earls and to the Ridolfi plot, Philip was 
annoyed with the papal Bull of Excommunication which, 
in 1570, the pope hurled against Elizabeth. He was afraid 
that it might anger the nation and drive the queen into the 
arms of the French, for at the moment the Huguenots 
seemed to be in the ascendant, and the massacres of Saint 
Bartholomew had not yet crushed them. Thus, in spite 
of his advisers, Philip refused to strike openly at Elizabeth ; 
and she on her side, while going so far as to retain his 
treasure-ships when they put into her harbours on their 
way to the Netherlands, refused for long to give any open 
aid to the Dutch. In 1575, she declined the sovereignty of 
Holland and Zealand, contenting herself with doling out 



PHILIP II 265 

her help in just sufficient quantity to prevent Orange 
from throwing himself into the arms of France. 

Philip meanwhile was biding his time. He had no 
desire to find himself engaged in open war with England, 
until he had settled the problem of the Netherlands, and 
made his position absolutely safe in the Iberian Peninsula. 
In spite of all affronts, therefore, he held his hand. In 
August 1578, his patience was rewarded, for Sebastian, 
King of Portugal, died, and was succeeded by the childless 
old Cardinal Henry, who only reigned a bare two years. 
There was no available successor save Dom Antonio, an 
illegitimate grandson of King Manoel, Sebastian's father. 
The moment had come for which Philip had long waited. 
The Duke of Alva was despatched to drive the pretender 
out of the country, and at Thomar, on April 3rd, 1581, 
Philip was acclaimed King of Portugal. But in spite of 
this great success, he returned from Portugal a broken 
man : he had been attacked at Badajoz on his march into 
Portugal by influenza : his devoted wife prayed that his 
life might be spared even at the cost of her own. Her 
prayer was heard ; Philip recovered and she died. The 
shock aged him prematurely, and his yellow beard turned 
nearly white. 

France and England looked with mistrust on this great 
accession of commercial and colonial strength to Spain. 
Dom Antonio was favourably received by Elizabeth and 
by Catherine. A plan was mooted whereby the Duke 
of Alencon should marry Elizabeth and receive the 
sovereignty of the Netherlands. This coalition of the 
Huguenot party with the Protestant Queen of England 
threw the Guises into Philip's arms. Immediately a plot 
was set on foot for Mary Stuart to send her son James to 
Spain to marry a Spanish princess. But Walsingham's 
spies soon had full information of the various schemes. 
The three parties, Philip, James, and the Guises, had all 



266 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

opposing interests. Philip wanted to recover England 
for himself ; James desired to be independent of any 
foreign power ; and the Guises sought to control a puppet 
sovereign in their own interests. 

From 1583 onwards, Philip carefully provoked religious 
disturbances in France, which prevented the Huguenots 
from helping Elizabeth or the Guises from aiding their 
kinsman James. Meanwhile, he cajoled the pope into 
promising a subsidy of one million gold crowns to assist 
him in conquering England ; but no mention was made 
of the fact that the English crown was to go to Philip. 
Communications were opened up with Mary, who promised 
to disinherit James in favour of Philip, and the Babington 
plot was devised, whereby Elizabeth was to be put out of 
the way either by poison or steel. Philip acquiesced. 
* The plan,' he wrote, ' is so much of God's service that it 
certainly deserves to be supported, and we must hope that 
the Lord will prosper it, unless our sins be an impediment 
thereto ' ; adding that he would fulfil his part ' as soon as 
the principal execution is effected. Above all, that should 
be done quickly.' But swiftness and secrecy were just 
what Philip's cumbersome system of centralisation and 
supervision rendered absolutely impossible, and Walsing- 
ham's heavy hand descended before the plot was ripe. 

In spite of the failure of the Babington plot, Philip 
never swerved from the principle he had now laid down of 
a direct invasion of England, and he set to work to prepare 
his fleet. Santa Cruz, his great admiral, sketched out a 
plan which depended on the possession of a port of refuge 
either in the North Sea or in the Channel. Such a base 
was offered by the Scottish lords. But the offer was 
rejected because it came through Guise, and by the time 
other arrangements had been made the plot was made 
known to Elizabeth. Accordingly, in April 1587, Drake 
appeared off Cadiz and burned the dockyard. If he had 



PHILIP II 267 

only gone on to Lisbon he could have destroyed the whole 
of the Armada. As a further counterstroke, Queen Mary 
was beheaded. Still Philip clung tenaciously to his 
scheme. In spite of the death of Santa Cruz and the 
impossibility of gaining a port in either England or 
Scotland, the Armada, after a first rebuff from a storm, 
put out to sea on July 22nd, 1588, under the Duke of 
Medina Sidonia, an incompetent landsman without even 
the virtue of bravery. Its orders were to push up the 
English Channel, to seize Margate, and then to join hands 
with the Duke of Parma. The unfortunate fleet was as 
badly equipped and manned as the expedition was faultily 
designed, , and thanks to English seamanship and gunnery, 
and to the bad weather, its failure was complete. Of the 
197 sail which left the ports of Spain only 65 battered 
ships returned, and of the 24,000 men who sailed full of 
the hope of victory only some 10,000 dejected, starved 
creatures came home. Afflavit Dens et dis?4pati hunt. 

The defeat of the Armada rudely tore aside the curtain 
of Spanish prestige, and revealed instead of a brazen 
colossus a figure of lath and plaster. But while it thus 
showed to the world the weakness of the Spanish empire, 
its effects on the Spaniards themselves were even more 
disastrous. Philip no doubt still clung to his faith. * It 
is Thy cause, O Lord,' he prayed ; ' if in Thy wisdom defeat 
is best, then Thy will be done.' But the Spanish people, 
hke the sailors of the Armada in the fight in the Channel, 
now raised the mournful cry, ' God has forsaken us.' The 
esprit de corps, so strongl}/ fostered by the sentiment that 
they were the chosen people of God, the favoured nation, 
the interpreter of the Most High and His particular 
instrument, was now gone. Soon also the discovery was 
made that though the gold of the new world flowed into 
their country, still it left them an impoverished people, 
with ruined manufactures and half-deserted towns. 



268 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

Such was the prospect which faced Phihp at home. 
Abroad the clouds were blacker still. England and the 
Dutch provinces were lost for ever. It was questionable 
whether the Flemish provinces would not also break away. 
The pope was openly contemptuous, and refused to pay 
any of the promised subsidy. In France a more pressing 
danger was imminent. In December 1588, Henry iii. 
mustered up courage and had the Duke of Guise 
assassinated. The Huguenot flag was once more in the 
ascendant ; and, worse still, the heir to the French crown 
was Henry of Navarre, the most capable man in France, 
and a Huguenot. Added to all this, Philip had found 
out that his trusted counsellor Perez had played him false. 
He ordered him to be arrested, but Perez escaped to 
Aragon, taking with him a vast accumulation of most 
secret papers. Once in Aragon the ex-minister was safe, 
for by the ' Manifestacion,' one of the Aragonese liberties, 
any person accused of crime could be lodged in the 
Aragonese prison, and thus escape torture and gain the 
benefit of an enlightened judicial procedure. When the 
king's emissaries tried to take Perez away by force from 
the monastery of Calatayud, the crowd rose in arms and 
rescued him, and lodged him in the jail of the* Manifestacion.' 
There was nothing for it but to proceed against him by 
Aragonese law. Perez drew up a most masterly defence, 
painting Philip in the blackest colours. Philip replied 
that he could not refute him * without betraying secrets 
which must not be revealed.' Accordingly, he was 
acquitted, and ultimately smuggled out of the country 
to sell Philip's secrets to France and England. Philip 
meanwhile bided his time, then suddenly, in December 
1591, despatched to Aragon 15,000 men under Alonso de 
Vargas, one of the butchers of Antwerp, and executed 
summary vengeance on those who had opposed him. 
The murder of the Duke of Guise was not long un- 



PHILIP II 269 

avenged, for, in August of 1589, Henry iii. fell beneath the 
knife of the ' Leaguers.' The dreaded event had arrived, 
and Henry iv. was rightful King of France. In March of 
the following year came his victory at Ivry, and it seemed 
as if a Huguenot was soon to reign in Paris. Meanwhile, 
Drake was preparing a fleet to attack Lisbon in the interest 
of Dom Antonio, and it was not until the failure of this 
expedition that Philip could turn his attention to France. 
His plan was to lay aside the Salic Law and to proclaim 
his daughter by Elizabeth Queen of France. The task of 
conquering the country was to be entrusted to Alessandro 
Farnese (Duke of Parma), with 13,000 good vSpanish 
infantry. ■ The skill of the Duke of Parma soon brought 
good fortune to the league ; but the idea of a France 
reigned over by a Spanish queen, dependent on PhiHp, 
was repugnant to the French mind. Moreover, when 
Philip tried to conquer Brittany and aid the league he 
brought EHzabeth of England into the field. So the 
struggle swayed backwards and forwards for three 
years, until Henry of Navarre hardened his heart, took 
the mortal leap, and, in July 1593, bought Paris for a 
Mass. 

Henry's conversion to Catholicism was the death knell 
of Philip's last scheme for the aggrandisement of Spain. 
Only once again did he interfere in foreign politics, when, 
against his better judgment, he sent aid to the rebels under 
Tyrone in Ireland. This, in 1596, brought down on his 
head a great English fleet, under Lord Howard and the 
Earl of Essex, which attacked Cadiz and burned the 
arsenal there and all the ships in the harbour, and after 
sacking the city left it a smoking heap of ruins. Medina 
Sidonia wrote to Philip, * Neither ship nor fleet nor Cadiz 
remains ' : so low had Philip's system brought his country. 
Yet the weary old king, racked with bodily agony, never 
lost faith in his divine mission. * Thy will, O God, be 



270 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

done, not mine,' was constantly on his lips, and he still 
looked forward to the future. 

The end came in the summer of 1598. By then his body 
was a mass of malignant tumours. So tender was his 
skin that he could not endure any covering. For fifty- 
three days he lay in his magnificent palace of the Escorial 
without a change of clothing or the proper cleansing of his 
sores. Night and day the propitiatory offices of the 
Church were performed around him, and he clung to the 
same coarse crucifix which his dying father had grasped. 
A fortnight before his death he had a private interview 
with his successor. * I meant to save you this scene,' he 
said to him, ' but I wish you to see how the monarchies of 
the earth end. You see that God has denuded me of all 
the glory and majesty of a monarch in order to hand 
them to you. . . . Two things 1 especially commend to 
you : one is that you keep always faithful to the Holy 
Catholic Church, and the other that you treat your subjects 
justly.' For thirteen days longer the unfortunate monarch 
lingered, bearing the excruciating agony without a murmur, 
joyfully looking forward to his release. At last, with a 
holy taper in his hand, listening, just above the altar, to 
the shrill voices of the choristers chanting the early Mass, 
he passed away on the morning of September 13th. His 
body lies still in the awful jasper charnel-house at the 
Escorial, in a coffin made out of the timbers of the Cinco 
Chagas, one of the galleons he had built to fight the heretics ; 
and his hands still clasp the rude crucifix which consoled 
his dying hours and those of his father, the great Emperor 
Charles v. 

To the Spaniards of later generations Philip, the 
Prudent, has ever been a hero, for he embodied all the 
narrow, rigid religious views, the patient dignity and the 
sombre pride which are so characteristic of the race. To 
the historian he affords the melancholy example of a man 



PHILIP II 271 

born out of his time ; of a religious mystic, obsessed by the 
idea that he was the divine instrument in the hands of 
God ; of a man of hmited intelHgence forced to play the 
part of a statesman. This estimate alone explains the 
course of his policy, and that system of centralisation which 
did so much to defeat the objects at which he aimed. 
Taught by his father to distrust all men, to balance one 
party against another, ever to inquire into the motives 
of his friends and his servants, he gradually built up a 
system whereby every detail of government passed 
beneath his own eye. Neither Ruy Gomez, gentle, 
conciliatory, modest and diplomatic, nor the Duke of 
Alva, haughty and intolerant, ever really swayed the king. 
Every state document, from the report of an ambassador 
to the minutes of some petty village official, had to be 
passed on by his secretaries for him to scan and make 
notes on. The reply, after it had been drafted, had to 
undergo the same process. In the execution of his schemes 
he was convinced that all means were lawful to the end. 
The proposed assassination of Elizabeth, of Dom Antonio, 
of the Prince of Orange or of his servant Perez, the putting 
out of the way of his imbecile son Don Carlos or his half- 
brother Don John, were discussed calmly as matters of 
business. No question of morality was allowed to clog the 
machinery of government ; all feeling of humanity was set 
aside. But while intolerant of all advice, overruling alike 
Cortes, Inquisition, and papal decrees, Philip trembled before 
the monks. His confessor ruled him with a rod of iron ; on 
occasions he refused him absolution, and told him, ' I am 
certain that your Majesty is in a more perilous condition 
than any other Catholic Christian living.' Thereon the 
king would yield in the most abject way even in matters 
of high policy. Hence, while possessed by the idea that he 
was ruling Spain for the glory of God, he was really ruining 
her for the sake of the monks. In the place of religious 



272 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

enthusiasm he substituted a cold formahsm ; learning 
died ; manners gradually became debauched ; and in spite 
of his stern decrees, luxury and ostentation increased. 
So absorbed was he in his devotions and office work that 
soon his courtiers lost their terror of him, and became noted 
for their undisciplined idleness and dissoluteness of 
character. The women of Spain from previously being 
modest and retiring became notorious for their scandalous 
freedom and intrigues. Meanwhile, as the king grew older, 
matters became worse and worse ; the mass of business 
increased, and he lost his sense of proportion. While the 
fate of the empire was hanging in the balance he would 
waste precious hours in working out the details of some 
religious procession, or ponder over the trifling request 
of some private subject. Thus it was that the English 
sailors were enabled with impunity to harry the treasure 
fleets of Spain, to destroy her settlements in the new world, 
while Philip, in spite of protests of the better missionaries, 
was working out plans to convert the poor Indians to 
Christianity by the fiery ordeal of the stake. 

It is as the leader of the Counter Reformation, the most 
Catholic king, that we must judge him. In spite of the 
massacres in the Netherlands and the holocausts of the 
Inquisition he was no blood-thirsty tyrant. He struck, 
as he believed, for Christ, not for his own power or for the 
delight of exercising his own will. As a man he was kind 
and tender-hearted. His four successive wives all adored 
him. He was devoted to his children, and could always 
find time to write to them or to visit them. He loved 
beautiful things, masterpieces of art or flowers. Like his 
father he was a friend of Titian and a great patron of 
painters and sculptors. His favourite palace of the 
Escorial, built to his own designs, represents his character. 
Outside, its great grey granite walls have a gloom which 
well matched his spirit ; but inside, in places, it is relieved 



PHILIP II 273 

by exquisite works of sumptuous painting and of the 
lapidary's art, as if in spite of its apparent aspirations 
some touches of nature could not be suppressed. So it 
was with Phihp. Kindly by nature, he considered him- 
self forced to become the unbending agent of a divine 
providence. 



GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS 

It was a dictum of the great Napoleon that in war men are 
nothing, but a man is everything ; this axiom is probably as 
true of politics as it is of war. Like chemical compounds, 
great ideas and revolutions in thought may hang for 
years in solution, awaiting the moment until the arrival 
of some force which brings about their crystallisation. 
So it was in the first quarter of the seventeenth century. 
The Catholic and the Protestant powers were in a state 
of flux. To the men of that day it seemed that the 
Counter Reformation might absorb or drive out the 
Protestant religion from Europe. But the victories of the 
armies of the King of Sweden in Germany, in the years 
1630-1632, changed the whole situation ; the flood tide 
of the Counter Reformation was once and for all hurled 
back ; Protestantism was saved, and the line of demarca- 
tion then established between the two religions has 
remained fixed, with but little alteration, to the present 
time. The life of Gustavus Adolphus is the history of 
the making of the Swedish nation and the consolidation 
of Protestantism in Europe. 

From the days of the Vikings until the middle of the 
seventeenth century Sweden had played but a small part 
in European politics. The country was poor in natural 
resources, frost-bound half the year, containing a popula- 
tion of barely a million and a half rude uncivilised peasants. 
Always inferior to her neighbours Norway and Denmark, 

she had too often been a prey to both ; indeed, for a 

274 



GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS 275 

hundred years after the Union of Kahnar, 1387, when the 
crowns of Denmark, Norway and Sweden had been placed 
on the head of Queen Margaret, * The Union Queen,' 
Sweden had been a mere province of Denmark. There 
followed some forty years during which a patriotic party 
of nobles attempted to re-establish the independence of 
their country. This transition period ended in 1520, 
when Christian 11. at one fell swoop executed some six 
hundred Swedish nobles at the ' Bloody Bath of 
Stockholm.' This cruelty had its due reward. One of 
the nobles who escaped execution was Gustavus Vasa, 
the founder of Sweden's line of heroic kings. Round this 
great patriot nobles and peasants alike rallied. In 1523, 
he assumed the crown of Sweden, and from that day till 
his death, in 1560, he laboured to restore the kingdom. 
With keen political sense he saw how the Reformation 
might be used to strengthen the country by enriching the 
crown and binding the nobles to his dynasty by grants of 
Church lands ; how, while concihating the nobles, he must 
not make them too strong, but seek for the foundations of 
his throne in the loyalty of the peasants. 

Gustavus Vasa was succeeded by his sons Eric xiv., one 
of Elizabeth Tudor 's many suitors, and John. John 
married Catherine Jagellon, the heiress of the Polish 
kings. The offspring of this marriage, Sigismund, became 
a Roman Catholic, and was elected, in 1587, King of Poland. 

In Poland Sigismund laboured most effectually to restore 
the Catholic religion. But when, in 1592, he succeeded to 
the Swedish crown, he found himself opposed by the 
nobles, who were afraid that they might be dispossessed 
of their Church lands, and by the peasantry, who resented 
the interference of the pope in their country. After a 
tempestuous reign of ten years Sigismund was ousted 
from the Swedish throne by his uncle Charles ix., the 
youngest son of the great Vasa. Thus, for the second time. 



276 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

religion became the pivot of Swedish poHtics, and noble and 
peasant alike felt that the independence of their country- 
was bound up in the maintenance of the Lutheran faith. 

Meanwhile, under the care of the Vasa kings the mineral 
resources of the country had been developed ; education 
and civilisation had made great progress; and the peasantry 
had become a political force. But the country was not yet 
assured of its existence. It was still at the mercy of its 
neighbours. Denmark, its hereditary foe, held the southern 
part of the peninsula, and Sweden had only one port on 
the North Sea, Gottenborg, at the mouth of the Gotta. 
Thus the greater part of her commerce lay at the mercy 
of the Danes, who held both sides of the sound. In the 
Baltic she was faced by the now hostile country of Poland, 
whose king, Sigismund, claimed the Swedish crown, and 
who by marriage was twice related to the Hapsburgs, the 
leaders of the Counter Reformation. The semi-barbarous 
power of Russia was also hostile, for under Eric and 
Charles, Sweden had seized the Russian lands of Esthonia 
and Livonia. Lastly, the great cities of the Hanseatic 
League, Liibeck and Dantzig, were jealous of the appear- 
ance of a new commercial rival. Such was the situation 
when, in 1611, Charles died, and was succeeded by his son, 
the famous Gustavus Adolphus, then in his seventeenth 
year. 

Gustavus Adolphus was born on December 9th, 1594. 
His father, as we have said, was the son of the Great 
Vasa, and his mother was Christina of Schleswig-Holstein, 
granddaughter of Luther's friend, Philip the Magnanimous 
of Hesse. His education was entrusted by his father to 
a Swedish noble, John Skytte, thanks to whose care ' he 
spoke Latin, Dutch, French and Italian just as if he was 
born to them, understood Spanish, English and Scotch, 
and had also a smattering of Polish and Muscovite.' A 
zealous student of the Bible, he did not neglect letters, and 



GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS 277 

he had also a taste for poetry, music and oratory. His 
military education was supervised by the Count de la 
Gardie, a Swedish noble of French descent ; but Gustavus 
himself supplemented it by the study of Xenophon and of 
Grotius, whose treatise De Jure Belli et Pads he always 
carried about in his pocket. Charles himself supervised 
his political education ; at nine the young prince began 
to attend the sessions of the Rad ; at thirteen to receive 
ambassadors ; and by fifteen he was practically co-regent 
with his father. 

Very different was the personal advice which Gustavus 
Adolphus received from his father from that which Philip 11. 
learned from the Emperor Charles v. For the Swedish 
king bade his son, ' Before all things fear God, honour thy 
father and mother, be tender to thy sisters, love those who 
served me faithfully, reward them according to their 
deserts, be gracious to thy subjects, punish evil, trust all 
men fairly, but only entirely when thou hast learnt to know 
them.' Very different also was Gustavus' character from 
that of Philip, for the Lion of the North was open-hearted, 
frank and fearless, a man of high ideals and of action, 
and a born leader. Yet both alike had in common the 
earnest desire to fulfil their destiny, for, as a contemporary 
said of Gustavus, ' He seems more occupied in making his 
kingdom than with the ordinary pleasures of youth.' A 
Dutch ambassador has left us an account of how he looked 
at the time of his accession. ' His Majesty stood before 
his throne to receive us with head uncovered, dressed in 
satin trimmed with black fur, with a black silk cloak over 
his shoulder ... he is slender of figure, well set up, with 
rather a pale complexion, a long-shaped face, fair hair, 
and a pointed beard, which here and there runs into a 
tawny colour ; and according to all reports he is a man 
of high courage, though not revengeful ; keen intellect, 
watchful, active ; an excellent speaker and courteous in 



278 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

his intercourse with all men ; from a youth of such promise 
great things are to be expected.' 

At the moment Gustavus ascended the throne, Sweden 
was in the throes of one of her constant conflicts with 
Denmark. In the preceding April Christian of Denmark, 
thinking he saw an opportunity to conquer the country, 
had seized the excuse of the foundation of the port of 
Gottenborg, and of the Swedish restrictions of trade with 
their new port of Riga, to declare war. He had been so far 
successful as to seize Gottenborg and the great fortress of 
Kalmar, which guarded the Swedish frontier on the Baltic 
side of the peninsula. For two years a most bitter struggle 
ensued, during which Gustavus all but lost his life by 
falling, horse and all, through the ice on the lake of Widojo. 
But, thanks to the personal affection of the Dalecarlian 
peasants, the young king was able to prevent the Danes 
gaining further ground. The long struggle became un- 
popular in Denmark, and ultimately through the mediation 
of James I. of England the peace of Knarod was signed in 
January 1613. Sweden acquiesced in Denmark continuing 
to bear the three crowns on her standards ' without thereby 
raising any claim on Sweden,' and promised to pay her a 
war indemnity of one million thalers (a thaler is about 
3s. 6d.) within six years. Denmark was to restore Kalmar 
to Sweden at once, but retain Elsborg and the other towns 
round the Gota, and seven counties in Vastergotland, until 
the indemnity was paid. Within two years the money 
was actually handed over, and the territory once again in 
Swedish hands ; for Gustavus and his people recognised that 
a heavy poll tax, the sacrifice of thirty per cent of the 
revenue and the coining of all the royal plate, was not an 
undue sacrifice for such an end. Thus in two years' time 
Gustavus was able to concentrate all his attention on the 
Baltic, where, with true instinct, he saw lay the future of 
his country. 



GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS 279 

Fortunately his cousin, Sigismund of Poland, was in no 
position to attempt to reassert his claim to the Swedish 
crown. An uneasy truce existed between them till the 
year 1617, both kings being occupied in endeavouring to 
get what advantage they could out of the anarchy which 
existed in Russia. Sigismund dreamed of a Russian 
crown, but Gustavus was busy with the practical task 
of turning Livonia, Esthonia, Ingria and Carelia into an 
effectual bulwark against Russia. He had further schemes 
for the absorption of western Russia, but they came to 
nought ; for the Russian national revival, in 1613, under 
the new tsar, Michael, the founder of the Romanoff 
line, checked the victorious advance of the Swedish 
army under de la Gardie. Soon afterwards the unruly 
behaviour of the Scots and Germans despatched, after the 
Peace of Knarod, to support de la Gardie, called for the 
presence of Gustavus himself at the seat of war. Conse- 
quently, after holding a diet in January 1614, when he 
remedied one of the greatest defects of his government 
by the establishment of a Supreme Court of Judicature, 
the king hurried off to the seat of war. After a suc- 
cessful summer campaign in co-operation with de la 
Gardie, he drove back the invaders, returning in triumph 
to Sweden. But in spite of his success the Russians 
refused to acknowledge themselves beaten, and in the 
following year he was once again obliged to return to the 
field. But, by now, both sides were desirous of peace, and 
when England offered her good offices a truce was 
arranged, and, in February 1617, the Peace of Stolbova 
was signed. Sweden recognised Michael Romanoff as tsar 
and surrendered Novgorod, but was confirmed in her 
possession of Ingria, Esthonia and Livonia. ' Now,' 
said Gustavus, on his return, to the estates of Sweden, 
* this enemy cannot launch a boat on the Baltic without 
our permission. The great lakes of Ladoga and Peipus, 



28o LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

thirty miles of morasses and great fortresses, are enough 
to keep him off from us. I hope in God's name he will 
find this brook a tough one to jump over.' Thus the 
ground, whereon the Russian capital, St. Petersburg, now 
stands, became Swedish soil. 

It was a saying of Gustavus that, * All wars in Europe 
hang together,' and nothing better exemplifies this than 
the years that followed the Peace of Stolbova. For 
scarcely had that peace been signed before Sweden found 
her newly acquired territory in Livonia attacked by 
Poland. There followed the two campaigns of 1617-1618, 
in which these provinces proved that they could well 
defend themselves from the Poles, and, in 1618, Sigismund 
was glad to conclude an armistice which lasted till July 
1621. It was not the actual war, but the inner meaning of 
the war which was so vital to the interests of Sweden, for 
the Polish attack was the forerunner of a Jesuit-Hapsburg 
crusade against the Protestant powers of the north. 
Sigismund's movement had indeed been premature, but 
the approaching accession to the Imperial throne of 
Ferdinand of Styria, the ardent Catholic proselytiser, 
foreshadowed a bitter struggle all over Europe between 
Protestantism and Catholicism. The long contest actually 
began in 1618, when the Bohemians deposed Ferdinand 
and elected as king Frederic iv., the elector palatine, 
son-in-law of James I. of England. For the moment 
the struggle was a personal one between the palatinate 
house of Wittelsbach and the house of Hapsburg. But 
in 1619, on the death of his uncle Mathias, Ferdinand was 
elected emperor, owing to the lack of union between the 
Calvinists and Lutherans, and all the Protestant states 
found themselves threatened. For Ferdinand 11., partly 
from desire, partly by force of circumstances, determined 
to insist on the restoration of all secularised lands to the 
Catholic Church ; in fact, to tear up the treaty of Augsburg. 



GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS 281 

Thus the struggle tended to become a rehgious war between 
the rival creeds ; further by the interference of Spain on 
behalf of the Hapsburgs, and of England on behalf of the 
elector palatinate, it also threatened to become a universal 
conflict. 

In view of this possible conflagration it was obviously 
the wisest policy for the Protestant states of the north to 
form an offensive and defensive alliance. But at the 
moment the danger was not pressing enough to obliterate 
old enmities. Denmark still longed to absorb Sweden. 
Holland was jealous of the growth of Swedish commerce 
in the Baltic, and equally so were the great Hanseatic cities. 
English policy under James i., who at times worked hard 
for the Northern Protestant Union, was unstable, and 
Brandenburg looked with apprehension on the growth of 
Swedish power near her outlying province of Prussia. 
Gustavus saw that an alliance with Brandenburg was of 
the greatest importance to Sweden, as it would materially 
strengthen her position on the southern shore of the 
Baltic. For this reason he listened to the advice of 
Oxenstyerna, who suggested that he should seek a consort 
from the family of Hohenzollern. He had already had two 
affairs of the heart. His first love had been Ebba Brahe, 
a beautiful lady of the court, sprung from one of the great 
Swedish families. But his mother, recognising that a king 
of Sweden must marry, not to please his own fancy, but 
to strengthen his state, had skilfully contrived to part the 
young lovers, and ultimately Ebba married James de la 
Gardie. Gustavus' next venture, one of the few stains 
on his career, was an illicit connection with Margaret 
Cabeliar, which resulted, in May 1616, in the birth of a son, 
Gustaf Gustafsson. Fully appreciating the wisdom of 
his chancellor's advice, in 1618, Gustavus decided to visit 
Berlin in disguise to see the lady whom policy pointed out 
as his future spouse. Again, in 1620, he visited the capital 



282 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

of Brandenburg, this time under the name of Captain Gars 
(G. A. Rex Sueciae). The young elector, George William, 
whose one idea was peace, had no desire to bind his house 
to that of the Vasa. But the persuasive King of Sweden 
completely fascinated Maria Eleanora's mother, and, in 
August 1620, Oxenstyerna arrived in Berlin and conducted 
the bride-elect to her new country. 

In the following year, 1621, the truce with Poland came 
to an end, and Gustavus determined to take advantage of 
the fact that his enemy was at war with the Turks. During 
the years of peace he had commenced those military 
reforms which are so intimately connected with his name. 
The numerous sieges in which he had taken part had 
taught him the value of artillery, and above all of good 
marksmanship with his guns. The mud of Poland and 
Russia, ' the fifth element,' had emphasised the need of 
differentiating between field and position artillery, and 
had caused him to experiment with light guns, and even 
to try cannon with leather muzzles bound with steel 
bands. The difficulty of maintaining discipline among 
his rude peasant boys and the foreign mercenaries from 
Germany and Scotland had led to the drafting of a code 
of military discipline. These famous articles of war were 
first read out to the Swedish army in July 1621. The gist 
of them was the establishment of regimental courts-martial 
for the trial of those guilty of larceny, cowardice and in- 
subordination ; of general courts-martial for cases of high 
treason and civil disputes. A regular scale of punishment 
was laid down. The death penalty was inflicted for plunder- 
ing or outrage, and in the case of a regiment running away 
every tenth man selected by lot was liable to capital 
punishment. Flogging was not allowed. For less serious 
offences the punishment was riding the wooden horse, im- 
prisonment in irons, bread and water, fines, etc. Duelling was 
absolutely forbidden. Lastly, morning and evening prayer 



GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS 283 

was to be observed in every regiment, and a full service 
and sermon on Sundays. Gustavus enforced discipline not 
only to gain victories, but for the sake of his men's moral 
character. ' My son,' he said to a soldier who pleaded for 
his life, * it is better that I should now punish thee, than 
that the wrath of God for thy misdeeds and His judgment 
should fall on thee and me and all of us here present.' 

The Polish campaign, of 1621, commenced auspiciously 
with the capture of Riga, and by June of the following 
year Sigismund was glad to make a truce which left Sweden 
in possession of all Livonia and part of Courland. This 
truce lasted till 1625. Gustavus accepted it, for Sweden 
was feeling the strain of almost continuous war; and 
there were many necessary reforms on which he had set 
his heart, notably the establishment of a central authority 
for the Swedish Church. But though he spent the greater 
part of 1623 in trying to effect this object, the stubborn 
dislike of the clergy to any interference on the part of the 
laity completely defeated his plans. As regards the 
state he was more fortunate, and, by 1626, he reorganised 
the house of the nobles and placed the diet on a more 
regular footing. But the real reason of the truce of 1623 
was that Gustavus wanted to be in a position to observe 
the events that were taking place in Germany. Three 
things stood out of the general welter of confusion : first, 
that Catholicism was making a definite and a seemingly 
successful attempt to reconquer Europe; secondly, that 
in Ferdinand the house of Hapsburg possessed an able 
and energetic man, who was aiming at making the Imperial 
rule a reality ; and thirdly, that the Bavarian General 
Tilly and the Imperial General Wallenstein were the 
greatest military leaders in Germany. In 1624, James 
of England, casting about for means to restore his son-in- 
law, approached Gustavus, and asked him on what terms 
he would undertake the adventure. Gustavus eagerly 



284 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

desired to stand forth as the champion of Protestantism. 
But, in spite of Oxenstyerna's dictum, that * If I did not 
perpetually throw cold water on you, you would catch 
fire and blaze up once and for all,' years of kingship were 
teaching him caution. He accordingly refused to move 
except on three conditions : first, that he should have 
complete and sole military control of the war ; second, 
that England should find him pay for seventeen thousand 
men ; and third, that he should be protected from any 
attack by Denmark, and be given two ports to secure his 
communications. James thought these terms excessive, 
and turned from Gustavus to Christian iv. of Denmark, 
with the result that the King of Denmark proved a broken 
reed, and the tide of Catholicism swept with increasing 
force towards the north. 

With Christian of Denmark busily engaged in attempting 
to champion the Protestant cause in Germany, in 1625, 
Gustavus once again turned his attention to Poland. He 
easily overran Courland, but in November the Poles were 
able to concentrate against him two armies, and for the 
next two months it seemed as if his army must be defeated. 
But on January 2nd, 1626, at Wallhoff, against odds of 
about five to one, he crushed Zapieha's army, thanks to his 
tactical skill and the discipline of his troops. The important 
victory of Wallhoff freed Sweden of any danger from 
Poland, secured Livonia, and brought to the Swedish arms 
a prestige which never left them as long as Gustavus lived. 

For the next four years Gustavus was busily engaged 
trying to capture Dantzig in order to gain a first-class base 
in Prussia, whence he might be able either to take part in 
operations in Germany or, if necessary, to bring over- 
whelming weight to bear against Poland. This involved 
the violation of the neutrality of his brother-in-law of 
Brandenburg, for he had to use Pillau, the port of 
Konigsberg, as his base against Dantzig. Against Dantzig 



GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS 285 

itself he failed, for the Swedish fleet was not strong enough 
to command the sea and to prevent the introduction of 
provisions and supplies. But the campaigns round that 
city were an admirable preparation for the greater task 
which awaited the Swedish army in Germany. The king, 
with that rash courage which did so much to gain for him 
the admiration and devotion of his men, twice nearly lost 
his life and was severely wounded. He thus described 
one of these accidents : ' The enemy was just over against 
us on the Dantzig side, and began to play upon us with 
his cannon. J. Baner and Count Thorn were to lead the 
first attack, and I was to second them with the pikemen. 
We were all divided into our respective boats, and all 
would have gone well if my fellows had obeyed orders ; 
but only one boat reached the opposite bank. The others 
mostly got stuck on the sand-bank, and one division of 
boats rowed in a wrong direction. So I jumped into a 
little boat to set matters right. And because it is apt to 
get rather hot on such occasions, I was actually hit in the 
belly by a shot. But I have God to thank it has not 
endangered my life or health, and I hope in a few days 
to direct the war again.' 

Meanwhile, the Catholic danger was pressing in closer. 
In 1626, Christian had been totally defeated by Tilly at 
Lutter, and, by 1628, Wallenstein had overrun the two 
Mecklenburgs and been granted those duchies by the 
emperor, with the title of Admiral of the Baltic. 
Wallenstein had then seized the ports of Rostock and 
Wismar, and had attempted to occupy Stralsund. This 
he failed to accomplish, thanks to a reinforcement of 
Swedish troops under Alexander Leslie sent by Gustavus. 
So serious was the outlook that Christian of Denmark was 
glad to make an alliance with Sweden. Gustavus in 
turn, thanks to the good offices of Charnace, an envoy of 
Richelieu, put an end to the Polish war by the Treaty of 



286 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

Stuhmsdorf ; whereby , after surrendering her other conquest, 
Sweden was allowed to retain Livonia and a great part of 
the coast of Prussia, including Elbing, Pillau and Memel, 
with customs dues to the amount of half a million rix 
dollars, George William of Brandenburg receiving in 
compensation Marienburg and other parts of west Prussia. 
The Protestants whom Sweden surrendered to Poland were 
to be assured freedom of religious worship. 

In spite of the almost continuous warfare from 1610 the 
resources of Sweden had been constantly increasing. The 
long winter months when warfare was impossible allowed 
the king to return home for half of each year and fix his 
attention on the economic reform of the country, with 
the result that Oxenstyerna confessed that ' the king's 
majesty controls and steers mines, commerce, manufac- 
tures and customs, just as a statesman steers his ship.' 
Gustavus' economic policy was one of pure protection : to 
concentrate manufactures in towns he protected the towns 
from the country districts, and at the same time by con- 
fining foreign traders to thirteen staple towns he protected 
Sweden from the foreigner. Thus he established on a 
secure basis those industries which were necessary to 
Sweden for the maintenance of her armies in the field. 
His grant of the foreign trade in copper, iron, corn and 
salt to chartered companies was not so wise ; still, as the 
financial burden of the war could not be thrown on the 
future, it was the only method of raising the necessary 
supplies. Meanwhile, every effort was made to improve 
communications within the country itself; fifteen new 
towns were founded by the king ; four great schools were 
established at Vastrias, Strangnas, Linkoping and Abo ; 
and the university of Upsala was endowed with three 
hundred manors. In spite, however, of the quickening 
of national life and the material expansion of her resources, 
the struggle on which Sweden was now on the eve of 



GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS 287 

entering was one which might have appalled an even 
more sanguine man than Gustavus. The cost of main- 
taining the army, in 1630, led to a deficit of about a million 
dollars after the finances of the country had been strained 
to the uttermost. 

Gustavus' entrance into the Thirty Years' War must 
be judged as a purely defensive action : as Oxenstyerna 
said, the king regarded Pomerania and the Baltic coast 
as the outworks of Sweden, and it was the attempt to 
turn the Baltic into an Imperial lake which drove him to 
take up arms against the emperor. Once he had deter- 
mined that such a course was absolutely necessary, he 
naturally sought and found allies amongst the emperor's 
opponents; that is to say, the Protestant states of Germany. 
But Saxony, the nominal leader of the German Protestants, 
was lukewarm : Brandenburg was lethargic : and it was 
with the small states and Imperial towns of south-west 
that he was gradually driven to seek allies. 

On March 29th, 1629, Ferdinand published his famous 
Edict of Restitution, restoring all Church land secularised 
since the peace of Augsburg. This meant that the arch- 
bishoprics of Magdeburg and Bremen, the bishoprics of 
Minden, Verden, Halberstadt, Liibeck, Ratzeburg, Misnia, 
Merseburg, Naumburg, Brandenburg, Havelberg, Lebus, 
Camin, and one hundred and twenty smaller foundations, 
after periods varying from fifty to eighty years, were to be 
taken away from the Protestants and restored to the 
Catholics. This edict, which delighted the Catholic 
League, roused the Protestants to fury, and disgusted 
Wallenstein. This last circumstance was the most im- 
portant factor in the situation, for the edict could only 
be enforced by the armies of Tilly and WaUenstein. These 
two men differed immensely in mihtary ability and political 
capacity. Tilly was a conscientious, careful strategist; 
intensely loyal to his master, the Elector of Bavaria. 



288 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

Wallenstein was a free-lance : originally educated by the 
Moravians, he was no religious bigot. His character was a 
strange mixture of ambition, self-confidence, and fatalism. 
He had built up an army in which Catholics, Lutherans 
and Calvinists were treated as equal. He had practically 
made war support war, and his magnificent force cost the 
emperor next to nothing. But he had ulterior designs 
of his own : he had laboured, not to impose Catholicism 
on Protestantism, but with the idea of revolutionising 
Germany, and of welding the country into a compact 
dominion under the emperor, with himself as chief 
lieutenant. The Edict of Restitution shattered his hopes ; 
it meant that the policy of crushing the princes and 
establishing the domination of the house of Hapsburg 
was too venturesome for the conscientious narrow-minded 
Ferdinand. Meanwhile, Wallenstein knew that the 
league was intriguing against him. Its leaders feared his 
ambition and writhed under his system, whereby both 
friend and foe had to sustain his army. Consequently, 
the emperor had to choose between abandoning the Edict 
of Restitution or Wallenstein. Obedient to the council 
of the Capuchin, Father Joseph, Richelieu's secret instru- 
ment, in July 1630, he made his momentous decision ; and 
a few weeks after Gustavus landed in Germany, he dis- 
missed the only general capable of withstanding the 
Swedish king. 

On June 26th, 1630, Gustavus Adolphus anchored his 
fleet off the island of Usedom, at the mouth of the Peene, 
on the Pomeranian coast. He had on board some 3000 
marines and 13,000 soldiers, of whom half were Swedes 
and half Brandenburgers, Poles and Scots. By the end 
of the year these numbers had risen to 40,000. Thanks to 
the Polish wars, the military code and religious enthusiasm, 
it was a force infinitely superior in discipline to anything 
that had been seen in Germany for centuries. It was 



GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS 289 

also considerably more mobile than any army of the age. 
The flint-locks of the infantry were comparatively light ; 
the cavalry had given up a good deal of their defensive 
armour ; the field-artillery had been lightened to meet the 
mud of Poland ; and there was also a considerable body of 
dragoons or mounted infantry. Gustavus' first business 
was to secure a base of operations, and most of the year 
1630 was spent in driving out the detachments of Tilly's 
army, and that which had lately been commanded by 
Wallenstein, from Pomerania and Mecklenburg. This 
included the occupation of Stettin and the forcing of the 
old Duke Boguslav of Pomerania to conclude an alliance 
whereby he placed his duchy under Swedish control and 
paid a contribution of 200,000 dollars. The duke was 
also compelled to agree that in the event of his death, 
until his successor (the Elector of Brandenburg) accepted the 
treaty, Sweden should still hold Pomerania. Meanwhile, 
Gustavus was labouring to draw into his alliance the 
electors of Brandenburg and Saxony. They both declined, 
and stated that they wanted to remain neutral. This in 
either case was impossible, but especially so in that of 
Brandenburg, for Gustavus' only means of getting into 
touch with the other Protestant states was by securing 
the Oder as his line of communication. Once he had 
cleared away the Imperial forces from Greifenhagen and 
Garz, it was absolutely necessary that he should, either 
by alliance or by force of arms, occupy the Brandenburg 
fortresses of Kiistrin and Frankfort, While the electors 
hung back, the town of Magdeburg expelled the Catholic 
emissaries and restored its administrator. Prince Christian 
William of Brandenburg ; and, in August 1631, entered into 
an alliance, whereby Gustavus promised to come to its 
assistance if necessary. 

Magdeburg is an important strategic centre on the 
Elbe, which river runs nearly parallel to the Oder. As 

T 



290 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

soon as Tilly, who now commanded both the forces of 
the league and of the emperor, heard of its defection he 
despatched Pappenheim, a dashing cavalry leader, to 
reduce it. A few weeks later, at the end of October, 
Gustavus sent to its aid a distinguished Swedish officer, 
Diedrich von Falkenberg. Meanwhile, the Swedish king 
was establishing himself in Pomerania, and on Christmas 
day drove the Imperialists in rout up the Oder from 
their positions at Garz and Greifenhagen. By January 
1631, only Colberg, Greifswalde and Dennin remained in 
the Imperialists' hands. But, what was even more 
satisfactor3^ in that month he concluded an alliance with 
France. Richelieu had long been seeking some weapon 
to use against the house of Austria, the great opponent of 
the expansion of France ; and now, after finding that if 
he wanted Gustavus' help he must accept his terms, he 
concluded, on January 23rd, the Treaty of Barwalde. By 
this he undertook to supply the king with 200,000 
dollars for six years, on condition that Gustavus main- 
tained an army of 36,000 men, and promised (i) to re- 
spect the Imperial constitution ; (2) not to make war 
against the League of Bavaria unless attacked ; and (3) 
to leave the Catholic religion untouched wherever 
he found it established. Meanwhile, the electors of 
Brandenburg and Saxony held a meeting of the 
Protestant states at Leipzig and assured the emperor 
of their fidelity, on the understanding that he would 
revoke the Edict of Restitution. For up till now the 
Protestant states looked with suspicion on the victorious 
course of the Swedish king. While these negotiations 
were going on, Tilly, by a sudden forward movement, 
captured New Brandenburg, putting its garrison of 2000 
to the sword, and then thrust himself between Gustavus 
on the Oder and the Swedish general Horn in Mecklenburg. 
Thanks, however, to his superior mobility, the king was 



GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS 291 

able to regain touch with Horn, and Tilly, thus foiled, fell 
back on the Elbe. 

Gustavus' next movement was to capture the fortress 
of Frankfort, which the Imperialists had seized. Tilly 
countered by joining Pappenheim at Magdeburg. The 
king was in honour bound to hasten to its relief, but he 
could only do so by violating the neutrahty of Brandenburg, 
which might drive the elector into the arms of the emperor. 
After negotiations had failed, and Magdeburg was reported 
to be at its last gasp, he appeared before Berlin, and the 
sight of his cannon caused George William to throw open 
the gates of his fortress of Spandau. But it was too late, 
for, on May 20th, Pappenheim stormed Magdeburg, and for 
three days the city was given up to the licence of the 
soldiery. Gustavus felt the blow bitterly : he knew that 
by an error of judgment, in not sooner using force against 
the elector, he had incurred a stain on his honour, and had 
also dealt a blow to the confidence which he had hoped his 
name would inspire among the Protestants of Germany. 

Meanwhile, the Imperialists were further elated by the 
news that peace had been signed between France and 
Austria at Cherasco, and that their forces from Italy were 
hastening to their help. But once again the action of the 
emperor brought ruin on his cause. In view of the arrival 
of these reinforcements Tilly was ordered to dismiss the 
Saxon troops, and to march at once against the Swedes. 
He accordingly did so, and proceeded to occupy the 
Saxon towns of Merseburg and Leipzig. Thereon the 
sluggish Elector John George, angry at this interference 
with his independence, suddenly made an alliance with 
Sweden. On September 17th, the allied army of Saxony 
and Sweden attacked Tilly near the village of Breitenfeldt, 
a few miles north of Leipzig. Tilly's forces, numbering 
32,000, were drawn up in solid square along the rising 
ground above the stream of Loberbach. On the high 



292 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

ground he massed thirty heavy cannon : in front of the 
guns he placed sohd blocks of pikemen with musketeers 
at each corner ; on the right the cavalry from Italy, under 
Fiirstenburg ; on the left the German cavalry under 
Pappenheim. To oppose him Gustavus had some 26,000 
of his own men and 15,000 Saxons. The Saxons were 
posted on the left wing, but fled from the field at the 
first charge of Furstenburg's horse. The Swedes were 
drawn up in two lines, with a local reserve for the first 
line between that and the second. The infantry were in 
the centre in company squares, with pikemen in the 
centre and musketeers at the wings. Each battalion had 
its own light guns in front, while on the left centre was 
a massed battery of a hundred pieces under Torstenson. 
With the wind and ground against him Gustavus at first 
suffered severely, but Pappenheim made a premature 
charge on the Swedish right which was at once followed by 
Furstenburg's charge on the Saxons. As we have said, 
the Saxons fled, followed for miles by Fiirstenburg, but 
thanks to his tactical ability Gustavus was able to throw 
back his left flank and form a new front. Meanwhile, the 
superior discipline of the Swedes broke up Pappenheim's 
attack, and the right wing was able to advance, swing 
round, seize Tilly's guns, and turn them on the Imperialists. 
Thus the victory was complete, and of Tilly's army some 
10,000 were left on the field of battle, and as many more 
taken prisoner. 

After Breitenfeldt two alternatives were possible for 
the conqueror. He might return to his line of communica- 
tion on the Oder, leaving Saxony to guard his right flank 
and to protect the Protestants of Germany, and himself 
push down to the Danube. But even if he reached 
Vienna, unless the emperor at once capitulated, he would 
have been absolutely in the air with his communications 
open to attack. The other plan, and that which he 



GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS 293 

adopted, was to get the Saxons to advance on Silesia and 
thus completely to compromise the elector with the 
emperor, while he himself marched west to gain touch 
with the Protestants of the south-west : for his secondary 
reason in entering the war was to help * our distressed 
brethren in Christ.' Moreover, by this means he was able 
to pick up a new base in the wealthy imperial cities and 
the rich valley of the Main, 

By Christmas 1631, Gustavus, with his headquarters at 
Maintz, was master of central Germany and the valley of 
the Main ; but except at Nuremberg he had been received 
with but httle enthusiasm, for his position could never be 
secure until he had struck another blow at the armed 
forces of the enemy, and had also united the Protestant 
states in a firm league under his guidance. Meanwhile, 
however, the members of the league, feeling the weight 
of the Swedish sword and dreading the recall of Wallenstein, 
were inclined to listen to terms of peace. But the 
negotiations broke dow^n, for, much to the disgust of 
Richelieu, Maximihan refused to agree to a scheme of 
absolute neutrality by which Gustavus and Ferdinand 
should fight out the quarrel. John George of Saxony 
seized this moment to announce his intention of with- 
drawing from the Swedish alliance. His policy, as suggested 
by Arnim, had been all along that Saxony should stand 
apart from the quarrel and form a third party, which 
might profit from the mishaps of either of the protagonists. 
To add to these troubles Wallenstein, whom Gustavus 
had sought to win to his side in the former summer, had 
been recalled by the emperor and was hard at work 
recruiting a new army. For Ferdinand had withdrawn 
the Edict of Restitution, and granted the adventurer all 
he demanded ; and he was now both the military and the 
political dictator of Germany. 

The campaign of 1632 opened by Gustavus making a 



294 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

spirited attempt to crush the Elector of Bavaria before 
Wallenstein's force could be mobilised. Advancing from 
Nuremberg he captured Donauworth on April 9th, and 
pushed on towards the position which Tilly had entrenched 
behind the Lech. This he forced ten days later, driving 
the wounded old marshal back into Ingolstadt to die. 
Thereafter Bavaria lay at his feet, but Maximilian with 
the remains of the Bavarian forces retired on Ratisbon. 
Meanwhile, John George of Saxony, playing for his own 
hand, had captured Prague, where he was suddenly 
surprised by Wallenstein's lieutenants and driven head- 
long back on his own dominions. Turning south, 
Wallenstein despatched Pappenheim with his cavalry to 
beat up the Swedish quarters in the Main valley, while he 
himself pushed forwards and formed a junction with the 
Bavarians. 

Gustavus got news of this movement too late to enable 
him to interpose between WaUenstein and Maximilian ; 
he accordingly threw himself into Niirnberg, and there in 
his entrenched camp awaited the return of the outlying 
detachments which he had at once recalled. Wallenstein 
also knew the importance of the spade, and at the end of 
June dug his greatly superior army into a strong position 
overlooking Gustavus' camp. His superiority in cavalry 
enabled him to cripple the Swedish commissariat. For two 
months the great masters of war lay watching each other, 
each seeking an opening. Meanwhile, disease and famine 
were decimating both armies, though Wallenstein's men did 
not suffer to the same degree as the Swedes. On September 
3rd, Gustavus, seeing his forces dwindling and the foe 
inexorable, led his troops against the heights where the 
enemy lay entrenched. In vain for a day and a night 
the Swedes flung themselves against the ramparts of the 
old castle, the Alte Veste. At last they were forced to 
retire, and a few days later Gustavus marched them off 



GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS 295 

to Swabia to restore his base between the Main and the 
Danube, leaving Wallenstein master of the position. 
That general had no intention of risking another engage- 
ment, and turned leisurely to the task of showing John 
George the error of his ways, by plundering the Saxon 
lands. Gustavus heard of the phght of his ally at 
Donauworth, where he was busily engaged in arranging 
a new campaign on the Danube. Anxious for the safety 
of his communications with the Baltic, and afraid of the 
effect of this display of strength on his wavering ally, 
he left Oxenstyerna as his representative in southern 
Germany ; and, calling to his aid the free-lance Bernard of 
Saxe- Weimar, pushed through Thuringia and seized Erfurt 
and Naumburg before Wallenstein was aware that he was 
in the neighbourhood. 

The surprise was complete. Wallenstein had never 
dreamed of such rapidity, and, while intending to form an 
entrenched camp for his winter quarters between Merse- 
burg and Torgau, had allowed Pappenheim to set off 
Rhinewards by way of Halle. In spite of urgent entreaties 
the elector refused to come to Gustavus' aid ; but this did not 
prevent the king, though he was oppressed by the impend- 
ing sense of death, from accepting the advice of Bernard of 
Saxe-Weimar, who urged him to fight. Meanwhile, to keep 
in touch with Pappenheim, Wallenstein fell back north- 
wards on Liitzen, where, on the morning of November i6th, 
the Swedish army came into touch with him in the fog. 

The Imperial commander had entrenched the high 
road to Leipzig which ran roughly across the front of his 
position, and had, so far as can be ascertained, drawn up 
his force in one long heavy line. His right under Colloredo, 
resting on the town of Liitzen, was composed of cavalry 
interspersed with musketeers after the Sw^edish method : 
he himself commanded the solid squares of infantry in the 
centre ; on his left were the cuirassiers, temporarily under 



296 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

the command of Hoick and Piccolomini, but eagerly 
awaiting the return of Pappenheim. Wallenstein's 
strength alone was over 25,000, and Pappenheim with 
8000 men was expected at any moment. In addition to 
this the deep ditches which covered the plain neutralised 
to a great extent the mobility of the Swedish army. On his 
side Gustavus had some 18,000 of his best troops. His 
army was drawn up in two lines with local reserves as at 
Breitenfeldt. The cavalry on the left was commanded by 
Bernard of Saxe- Weimar, the infantry in the centre by 
Count Nils Brahe, and the king himself with Stalhanske 
commanded the Finnish horse on the left ; whilst 
Kniphausen led the infantry of the second line, and 
Balach and Hoffkirch commanded the horse. Prayers 
were read as usual at the head of each regiment, and 
Luther's psalm ' eine feste Burg ist unser Gott,' and the 
king's own hymn ' Verzage nicht, du Hauflein klein,' 
were then sung. Thereafter the king harangued both 
Swedes and Germans, and then gave the order to advance. 
The Swedish plan was to attempt to break up the 
Imperial right and drive the enemy from Liitzen, thus 
interposing between him and Halle, and driving him 
towards the elector of Saxony. The mist rolled away at 
ten o'clock, and after an hour's cannonade a general 
advance was commanded. From that moment the battle 
raged incessantly with alternating success for nine hours, 
and it is impossible to procure a consecutive narrative of 
events. One thing seems certain, that by about twelve 
o'clock the Swedes had so gained ground that they had 
seized the Leipzig road. At this moment, when it appears 
that Pappenheim was on the point of arriving, Wallenstein 
hurled all his available cuirassiers on the Swedish centre. 
Gustavus with his Finns hurried to the rescue, and amid 
the confusion and mist got separated from his men. 
Surrounded by a troop of the enemy's cavalry, with but 



GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS 297 

a couple of pages and the Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg, he 
fell shot in the back while attempting to escape. The 
cuirassiers rode up and asked his name, and his page, who 
was found mortally wounded beside him, reported that 
he heard him say, ' I am the King of Sweden, who do seal 
the Religion and Liberty of the German nation with my 
blood.' Thereon the horsemen plunged their swords again 
and again into his body. Meanwhile, the sight of his 
white horse galloping riderless, streaming with blood, 
told the sorrowful tale to his troops. Bernard took 
command. Encouraged by his exclamation, ' Retreat ! 
the time is passed. It is vengeance now,' the Swedes set 
to work grimly to avenge their king. Pappenheim fell 
mortally wounded, and the fight raged hand to hand till 
at last darkness set in, when after one more superhuman 
effort the Swedes drove the enemy from their trenches. 
But the victory was a hollow one, for the one man who 
could have profited by it had fallen, and the end of the 
war, which might have followed the battle of Liitzen, was 
thus postponed for sixteen years. 

' Think not of me, for I am nothing but a weak and 
dying man. Think only of the cause.' Such were 
Gustavus' last words to his wife five days before his death 
at Liitzen. In them we may see the guiding principle of 
his life and the secret of his success, which endeared him 
to his contemporaries, and still causes the mention of his 
name to send a thrill through every Protestant breast. 
If we would judge him rightly we must regard his career 
from three distinct points of view : first, as King of 
Sweden ; secondly, as a European statesman ; and 
thirdly, as a soldier. 

Gustavus himself had ever this first point in view : what 
was his duty as a Christian gentleman, the King of Sweden. 
Obviously in this capacity the first thing to do was to 
provide for the independence of his countr}^ and this in 



298 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

his opinion could only be secured by her expansion and 
development. His wars therefore, though fought on the 
offensive, must not be regarded as mere wars of aggression. 
They were fought to obtain a * bastion ' for Sweden. We 
have shown how during the intervals of warfare he found 
time to supervise the development and the civilisation of 
his country ; and how, while ruling as a benevolent despot, 
he yet, like Edward i., prepared the way for constitutional 
government. 

But it is as the European statesman that he is most 
interesting to the majority of readers. He fell, as we have 
seen, just at the moment of success ; just before he was 
faced with the task of reconstruction. The question we 
have to attempt to answer is this : From what we know 
of his policy and his ideals, on what base would he, if he 
had been spared, have attempted to restore the equilibrium 
in Germany ? There are those who have insinuated that 
his sole object was to seize for himself the crown of the 
Holy Roman Empire. But his friend and chancellor 
Oxenstyerna utterly denied such an idea. It is to the 
negotiations at Maintz, during Christmas time 1631, that 
we must turn to see what solution of the problem he had 
sketched out in his mind. We find that he was working 
to bring into being a * Corpus Evangelicorum,' or Con- 
federacy of the German Protestant States, Lutheran and 
Calvinist alike, with himself the King of Sweden at their 
head, both as their political leader and military chief. 
His duty would have been to protect the confederates 
from any aggression by the Catholics, while Sweden 
would have been strengthened by being represented in the 
Imperial Diet by her king, sitting as Duke of Pomerania. 
That the scheme might have succeeded is clear from the 
success of the League of Heilbronn, made soon after the 
king's death by Oxenstyerna. Further, we must remember 
that, if it had not been for Bavaria, the Catholic League 
would have gladly made terms of peace with the king. 



GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS 299 

For * The Lion of the North and the Bulwark of the 
Protestant Faith ' was no cruel persecutor, nay, not even 
a proselytiser. His only object was to restore the Pro- 
testant religion to the position it had held in 1618, the 
year of the outbreak of the Thirty Years' War. 

As a soldier Gustavus stands high indeed. We have 
already noted his ability to discover the technical causes 
which in his day led to victory, and how on these lines 
he revolutionised the equipment, material and armament 
of his forces, modifying the existing tactics to suit the new 
conditions. Two things we have neglected to mention : 
first, the fact that it was Gustavus who taught cavalry 
to rely on shock and impact, and not merely to gallop up, 
hre their pistols, and return to reload. Secondly, the 
use he made of the spade, a lesson which in these days 
has too often been neglected. But it is not only as an 
organiser and a tactician that he is great. The sure eye 
which discovered the most suitable base of operations ; 
the careful strengthening of his base before a further 
advance ; the clever use of river and cities as lines of 
communication in a country sparsely populated and 
devastated by war ; the masterly methods whereby with 
five armies scattered over Germany he always managed 
to .reinforce the threatened spot, so as to be found in 
strength at the vital moment, so well illustrated in his 
operations during the spring of 1632 and his dash at 
Liitzen ; the self-control which taught him never to 
fritter away his strength on useless engagements, and never 
to hesitate to strike when an advantage could be gained — 
all mark him out as a great soldier. He also possessed 
great personal magnetism : this attribute, as its name 
suggests, implies immediate contact with individuals. 
But his force of character was sufficient to impress his 
will even over his scattered commanders ; and although, 
like other great soldiers before and after, he was con- 
stantly threatened by the petty jealousies of his 



300 LEADINCx FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

subordinates, on the whole he successfully compelled them 
to unite. * Do not let me come to any harm,' he wrote, 
in December 1631, to Baner, ' owing to your jealousies ; 
help one another without other thought than the good of 
our fatherland. Amend your lazy ways and send me a 
messenger at least once a week.' Looting he sternly 
repressed. When his German troops commenced plunder- 
ing round Nuremberg he thus harangued them : * They 
are no Swedes who commit these crimes, but Germans. . . . 
I came to restore every man to his own, but this accursed 
robbing of yours does much abate my purpose. I have 
not enriched myself by as much as one pair of boots since 
my coming to Germany, though I have had forty tons of 
gold passing through my hands. By such means as you 
are now employing victory will never be won.' 

One of his subordinates, the Scot, Monro, thus sums him 
up as a soldier. ' He did not like so well of an officer 
that was not capable to understand his directions, as he 
was ready in giving them : nevertheless, he v/ould not 
suffer an officer to part from him till he found he was 
understood by the receiver of the order. Such a general 
I would gladly serve, but such a general 1 shall hardly see, 
whose custom was to be first and last in danger himself, 
gaining his officers' love in being the companion both of 
their labours and dangers.' 

Errors of judgment, as in the case of the relief of 
Magdeburg, he made no doubt both in war and in 
politics ; but like other great soldiers and statesmen he 
was remarkable for the ability whereby he retrieved his 
mistakes. From his high ideals he never wavered. God 
had raised him to the throne to defend his country and 
his religion. This was the keynote of his career, and 
this it was which inspired him to be a patriot king, a wise 
statesman, a great soldier — in a word, a true gentleman, 
passionate at times, but always simple, brave and devout. 



LOUIS XIV 

On the death of Gustavus Adolphus the Swedish 
chancellor, Oxenstyerna, formed the League of Heilbronn, 
whereby the Circles of Swabia, Franconia, the Upper and 
Lower Rhine, and Sweden pledged themselves to carry on 
the dead king's policy. But from 1635 onwards the motive 
of the war changed. After the crushing defeat of Bernard 
of Saxe- Weimar, the general of the league, at Nordlingen 
(September 1634), John George of Saxony made his peace 
with the emperor at Prague. The terms were that the 
question of the ecclesiastical lands should be settled on 
the basis of their ownership in the year 1627. This secured 
almost all the northern bishoprics to the Lutherans, and it 
was hoped that it might form the basis of a general peace. 
Thus the purely religious factor dropped out, but un- 
fortunately the war did not end for another thirteen years. 
Not because the mass of the Germans did not desire peace, 
but because France was afraid that the two Hapsburg 
powers, once more closely allied, might attempt to wrest 
from her what she had gained during the late turmoils. 

We are now entering upon a new phase in the history 
of Europe. It is marked by the attempt of the King of 
France to build up for himself an empire which should 
extend not only over western Europe, but over the New 
World. During the sixteenth century the power of France 
had been on the wane. She was exhausted by the wars 
of aggression in Italy at the beginning of the century, and 
wrecked by internal strife. Her political development 



302 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

had been arrested by the power of the over-mighty subject. 
Neither the crown nor the states-general had sufficient 
authority to unify the kingdom, and the consequence was 
that the nobles seized the opportunity of the Reformation 
to increase their power. The long wars of the Huguenots 
were not so much religious as disruptive in their origin. 
The great Huguenot nobles thought more of their own 
authority than of religion. At the beginning of the 
seventeenth century, as in England at the commencement 
of the fifteenth, the country was calling out for more 
governance. Unfortunately the dagger of Ravaillac ended 
the reign of Henry iv. before that capable monarch could 
effect a real alteration in the state of affairs. If Henry 
had lived it is possible that the crown might have been 
strengthened by calling in to its assistance the states- 
general. But on his death the nobles once more assumed 
the upper hand, and civil war broke out again, Conde and 
the princes uniting with the Huguenots. However, in 1616, 
an event occurred which was to have far-reaching conse- 
quences, for in that year Louis xiii. summoned to his 
council Richeheu, the young bishop of Lugon. From that 
day the king fell entirely under his influence. Promotion 
came quickly to the young favourite, who soon became 
prime minister, cardinal, and absolute ruler of France. 

Richelieu's policy was threefold — to estabUsh an absolute 
despotism in France, to destroy the Hapsburg power, and 
to make his country the arbiter of the destinies of Europe. 
One of the most unlovable of men known to history, he 
quietly worked at his objects and succeeded, though, as 
Corneille wrote of him, ' Pride, ambition, self-interest, 
avarice, clothed with his name, dictated laws to France ' ; 
while Grotius wrote : ' He kept his allies in their places, 
and made Frenchmen his slaves ; his friends were at his 
feet, his foes in the dungeon ; it was his one curse to be 
the curse of all men ; he was as much the torment as the 



LOUIS XIV 303 

ornament of his time.' Most thoroughly did he do his 
work. At home the ' parlements ' or legal corporations 
both of Paris and of the provinces resisted in vain ; the 
Church was made subservient ; the Huguenot cities, like 
Rochelle and Nimes, were crushed into silence ; the local 
states deprived of liberty ; and the nobles, gradually 
stripped of their political offices, were taught to look for 
promotion to the pleasure of the king. Abroad his policy 
was to extend the frontiers of France on the west to the 
Pyrenees by the capture of Roussillon, and on the east to 
the Rhine. This necessitated a bitter struggle with the 
two houses of Hapsburg. It involved France in war 
along the Pyrenees, in Italy in the Valtelline and else- 
where, to cut off Spanish reinforcements from crossing the 
Alps to aid their fellow countrymen in Franche Comte and 
the Netherlands. In Germany it meant direct war with 
the emperor over the question of Alsace, and the fiefs of 
the empire which lay on the left bank of the Rhine. This 
was the reason why Richelieu subsidised Gustavus 
Adolphus, helped the League of Heilbronn, patronised 
the smaller German states, and continually intrigued with 
the Elector of Bavaria. 

When the great cardinal died, in December 1642, though 
many of his objects were not yet attained, France was the 
dominating factor in European politics. She had increased 
her possessions by the acquisition of Perpignan and 
Roussillon in the south-west ; on the north-east she had 
gained Artois ; she was gradually absorbing Lorraine ; 
she held the keys of northern Italy in her hands, and her 
aUies were crushing the Hapsburgs in German3\ At 
home Richelieu had conquered all opposition, and the 
king was ready to accept the Italian Mazarin, whom he 
nominated as his successor. Moreover, the succession 
question was now secure, for in 1638, after twent}^ years 
of married life, the Queen, Anne of Austria, had given 



304 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

birth to a son, the future Louis xiv. Six months after 
his mighty subject's death Louis xiii. also died, and his 
four-year-old son began a reign which was to last for 
seventy- two years. 

The early years of Louis' reign were marked by troubles 
at home and war abroad. There was constant fighting 
against the Spaniards along the Pyrenees and in the 
Netherlands, Luxemburg, Lorraine, and Franche Comte, 
and against the Imperialists in Alsace and across the Rhine. 
Fortunately for France, in the young d'Enghien, better 
known under his later title of Conde, and in Turenne, the 
French found they possessed the two greatest generals of 
the age. Meanwhile, the nobles banished by Richeheu 
had returned home with the intention of regaining their 
position. They included Henry of Conde, father of 
d'Enghien; Conde's son-in-law, the Duke of Longueville; 
the Duke of Beaufort, the grandson of Henry iv., ' the idol 
of the markets ' ; and the famous Duchess of Chevreuse. 
They had gained for themselves the title of ' les importants,' 
owing to their ridiculous pretensions, but their opposition 
was not so formidable as that of the ' parlement.' The 
' parlement ' of Paris differed entirely from the English par- 
liament, in that it was composed of an hereditary class 
of lawyers. It was in fact a learned societ}^ which by 
its position as registrar of the royal edicts had acquired 
certain constitutional pretensions that had been roughly 
put aside by Richelieu. Now in the new reign it sought 
to regain these privileges, and thought to play the part 
its namesake was placing in English politics. But it had 
not the necessary driving power, because it merely repre- 
sented an hereditary class and not the people at large. 
One thing the ' Importants ' and the ' parlement ' had in 
common, and that was their hate for Mazarin, Richelieu's 
successor, now the right-hand man of the queen, her 
confidant, and her future husband. The opposition 



LOUIS XIV 



305 



became known as the Fronde, a nickname invented by a 
parliamentary wit, Bachaumont, who told the law^^ers 
' they were like school-boys playing in the town ditches 
with slings (fronde=a sling), who run away directly the 
watchman appears and begin again when his back is turned. ' 
In September 1643, d'Enghien's victory of Rocroi, which 
once and for all shattered the remnants of Spain's military 
prestige, enabled Mazarin to crush the ' Importants ' ; 
while Turenne's victory of Nordlingen, in 1645, allowed 
him for the moment to override the 'parlement.' But 
opposition to the heavy taxation necessary for the wars 
gradually gained strength ; and at last, in 1648, at the very 
moment that the conference was assembling in Westphalia 
which was to end the Thirty Years' War, civil war broke 
out in France. In January the young Louis had attended 
what was called a ' lit de justice,' and forced the ' parlement ' 
to register Mazarin's decrees establishing a heavy duty on 
all goods entering Paris. The result had been that under 
the clever guidance of de Retz, the coadjutor of the Arch- 
bishop of Paris, the city had risen in revolt, and the court 
had had to flee to St. Germain. A temporary peace was 
patched up at Ruel, in April, Mazarin conceding nearly 
everything, as he hoped to regain all when the peace of 
Westphalia set free the army. Conde's victory of Lens 
(August 20th) gave him the opportunity of arresting 
Broussel, the leader of the ' parlement.' But Paris rose in 
arms, and, on both Conde and Turenne declaring for the 
' parlement,' the court party was forced to accept the 
demands of the Frondeurs. The land tax (Taille) was 
repealed ; the Intendants, who had taken the place of the 
nobles as governors of the provinces, were deposed ; a 
sort of Habeas Corpus act was passed, and the ' parlement ' 
was granted power over taxation. But, in January 1649, 
the court party, knowing the weakness of the opposition, 
reopened the war. Its leaders recognised that the nobles 

u 



3o6 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

cared nothing tor the ' parlement,' and were merely playing 
for their own hand. For the next four years there ensued 
a struggle, during the last two years of which the king's 
army under Turenne was faced by the Frondeurs under 
Conde, who had allied himself with the Spaniards. Mean- 
while, to break up the coalition, from time to time Mazarin 
withdrew into retirement. At last, in October 1652, the 
king's party prevailed, entered Paris, and forced the 
' parlement ' to give up its powers. Mazarin returned, and 
six months later, in July 1653, the Fronde ended by the 
Treaty of Bordeaux. 

Louis attained his majority in September 165 1, but 
until the death of Mazarin, in March 1661, he reigned but 
did not govern. Meanwhile, under the skilful eye of 
his stepfather, his character was gradually being formed. 
The cardinal did not trouble much about literary educa- 
tion, and Louis was all his life grossly ignorant of philo- 
sophy, literature, languages, science, and even of religion. 
But he took care to see that his stepson had a thorough 
knowledge of politics. It was easy to impress on the 
young king, brought up amid the turbulent scenes of the 
Fronde, the necessity of a united kingdom under the 
strong government of the crown : this implied the 
elimination of the nobility from politics, and the careful 
suppression of the Huguenots. The wily Italian spent 
hours in teaching him the importance of prudence in 
making plans, and of perseverance and tact in carrying 
them out. Louis was by nature susceptible to feminine 
influence : to counteract this, and to strengthen him both 
morally and physically, Mazarin encouraged him in military 
pursuits. From 1649 onwards, Louis spent a great part of 
his time with the army, with beneficial results both to 
himself and to the service : for his presence did much to 
stimulate the troops, and gave him a great hold on his 
subjects. Unfortunately, however, the theatrical side of 



LOUIS XIV 307 

war rather than the active appealed to his nature, and in 
later years his predilection for sieges rather than battles was 
detrimental to the interests of the army and of France. 

Meanwhile, Mazarin was completing the foundations of 
that foreign policy which was to end in the predominance 
of France over western Europe. Under Turenne the 
French arms were gradually asserting their superiority 
over the Spanish. In 1657, Mazarin induced Cromwell to 
join him in the war against Spain, and in the following 
year Lionne built up the League of the Rhine whereby 
Bavaria, Sweden, Brunswick, and the Rhenish electors 
took the part of France, with the result that, in November 
1659, Spain was glad to sign the Treaty of the Pyrenees. 
By the Treaty of Westphalia (October 1648) France had 
gained the Austrian possessions in Upper and Lower 
Alsace, the three bishoprics of Verdun, Toul and Metz, 
the prefecture over the Imperial cities in Alsace, and thus 
acquired a right to interfere in the empire. She now 
wrested from Spain Artois, many fortresses in Flanders, 
Hainault and Luxemburg, which protected her weak 
frontier on the north-east; while on the south-west she 
was confirmed in her possession of Roussillon and Cerdagne, 
Spain also relinquishing any claim to Alsace. In return, 
under certain conditions, she promised to return Lorraine 
to its duke, Charles iii., but he refused to accept the 
conditions. The treaty was cemented by a marriage 
between Louis and Maria Theresa, the Spanish king's 
daughter. She, however, was to renounce entirely all 
claim to the Spanish crown ; a renunciation which Mazarin 
well knew would never hold good against the temptations 
and exigencies of time. 

On March 8th, 1661, after ruling France for twenty years, 
Mazarin breathed his last. Abroad he left her in a com- 
manding position ; but at home, owing to his grasping 
selfishness and lack of financial understanding, she was 



3o8 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

bankrupt in money and suffering from political anaemia. 
He had done much for France, still Colbert's saying is 
true : * It is indubitable that if Cardinal Mazarin under- 
stood foreign affairs, he was utterly ignorant of home 
government.' 

Louis was now in his twenty-third year : though 
admirabty proportioned he was below middle height ; his 
e^^es were blue, his nose long and well-formed, and his hair 
abundant, and hanging over his shoulders. In expression 
he was serious and phlegmatic : he rarely laughed, and 
seldom gave way to anger. Up till now he had seemed to 
take no interest in politics, so there was general amaze- 
ment when on Mazarin's death he summoned his council 
and told the chancellor, ' Sir, I have summoned you with 
my ministers and secretaries of state to tell you that 
hitherto I have been willing to let my affairs be managed 
by the late cardinal ; in future, I shall be my own prime 
minister,' and then proceeded to say to them that no 
agreement or despatch must be signed, and no money 
expended, without his orders and knowledge. Nearly 
everybody thought that he would soon tire of business ; 
for hitherto, except for the time spent in camp, the 
organisation of amusements had been his sole occupation, 
except the attendance on those ladies who from time to 
time had gained his affections. Some few keen observers 
thought other\Aise. Le Tellier had noticed ' The basis of 
severity and seriousness with which Louis knew how to 
strengthen the natural kindliness of liis nature ' ; and 
Mazarin had declared that ' he will set off later, but will go 
further than others,' adding that he had ' the making of 
four kings and of one good man.' 

From the moment that he took the government into 
his own hands to the day of his death, Louis worked 
systematically five hours a day. ' I gave myself a law,' 
he Wrote, * to work regularly twice a day for two or three 



LOUIS XIV 309 

hours each with various persons, without speaking of the 
hours I spent working by myself. There was no moment 
when it was not allowed to speak to me about business if 
there was any urgency.' The apocryphal saying, * L'etat, 
c'est moi ! ' attributed to him, accurately represents his 
view, that, in his own person, all the threads of internal 
government and foreign policy met. He had no spark 
of genius or of originality, but he had, like many second- 
rate men, an intense love of detail for detail's sake. He 
was intensely proud and peculiarly susceptible to flattery, 
and hence very early in his career he developed the worst 
form of arrogance, with the result that he allowed his own 
ambition to usurp the place of public policy. So sure 
was he of his own capability that he preferred second- 
rate men, for he was convinced that the success of the 
earlier part of his reign was due to his own guidance, not 
to the efforts of the wonderful administrators he inherited 
from Mazarin. But he had the merit of clearly under- 
standing the drift of European politics, of working cease- 
lessly for the object he had in view, and of nearly always 
forgoing minor success in order to gain the greater prize. 
Though not endowed with physical courage he possessed 
the great virtue of moral courage. All through his life he 
laboured at ' Le metier du Roi.' With his graceful person, 
his dignified, calm, debonair manner, and the seriousness 
which clothed his ignorance or want of capacity, he appeared 
' every inch a king ' ; and, as Bolingbroke said of him, he 
was, ' if not the greatest king, the best actor of majesty 
at least, that ever filled a throne.' 

Louis' first work was to divide the government between 
those agents who, he determined, should serve him but not 
govern. Lionne, a capable diplomatist, was placed in 
charge of foreign affairs. Le Tellier, aided by his famous 
son Louvois, was made Secretary of War ; and Fouquet, a 
man of low origin, but brilliant, immoral and cultivated. 



310 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

was allowed to remain Intendant of Finances. The 
cardinal had warned Louis that Fouquet was not to be 
trusted, so Colbert received secret instructions to keep a 
vigilant eye on the Intendant. Fouquet 's fall came soon. 
Not only had he defrauded the government, but he had 
also the insolence to raise his eyes to the king's mistress, 
Mademoiselle de la Valliere. He was, therefore, suddenly 
arrested, and after a three years' trial was condemned to 
banishment. But Louis dreaded his knowledge, and 
changed the sentence to perpetual imprisonment. Colbert, 
a man after Louis' own heart, who arrived every morning 
at the Council Chamber with a little black bag like a 
commercial traveller, took his place though not his 
honours. Thanks to his strict methods of audit, his 
repudiation of Fouquet's extravagant loans, his super- 
intendence of the tax-farmers, his resistance to fraudulent 
claims to exemption, and his abolition of vexatious taxes, 
he completely restored the national finances. In 1661, the 
budget showed a deficit of twenty-three million livres, 
for out of eighty-four million raised only thirty-two million 
reached the treasury ; but, by 1667, the expenditure had 
fallen from fifty-four millions to thirty-two and a half 
millions, and there was a surplus of thirty-one millions. 
Meanwhile, manufactures had been started under pro- 
tection ; roads and canals, like the great canal of Languedoc, 
commenced throughout the country; the internal tolls 
equalised ; companies formed to trade with the East and 
the West Indies ; colonists sent to Madagascar and New 
France (Canada) ; and the navy completely reorganised. 
In 1661, the French navy had but few vessels ; by 1667, it 
had fifty ; by 1672, one hundred and ninety-six ; and, by 
1690, seven hundred and sixty ships of war. To provide 
for this growing fleet Vauban, the great engineer, was 
entrusted with the work of fortifying the ports of Calais, 
Dunkirk, Brest and Havre, while arsenals were also 



LOUIS XIV 311 

established at Rochefort and Toulon, and naval schools at 
Rochefort, Dieppe and St. Malo. 

Louis threw himself heart and soul into the super- 
vision of all these works, and in nearly everything saw 
eye to eye with Colbert. Laws were codified ; the number 
of judges decreased ; justice was made cheaper ; the 
Institute of France, the iVcademy of Inscriptions and 
Medals, the Academy of Architecture and Music, and 
academies at Rouen, Aries, Nimes and Soissons were 
founded ; and literary men such as Moliere, Racine and 
Boileau received the royal patronage. Colbert, in spite 
of his appreciation of the industry of the Huguenots, 
supported Louis' attempts at their conversion. In fact, 
the only point on which they had any real difference of 
opinion was on building. Colbert desired to beautify 
Paris : he built the colonnade of the Louvre, and planned 
boulevards and quays, but here he was checked by Louis' 
desire to concentrate his attention on Versailles and Marly. 

By 1671, thanks to Colbert's ability, France had gained 
for herself a position hitherto unknown among the nations 
of the world. Her administration was careful and just ; 
on the whole her people were prosperous, contented and 
obedient ; her soil was fertile and well cultivated ; her new 
industries were growing and prosperous ; her army was 
the best equipped and most easily mobilised in Europe ; her 
navy was quickly overtaking those of the great maritime 
states, England and Holland ; her colonial empires in the 
East and West were rapidly expanding, opening fresh 
fields of wealth and industry ; her frontiers, except in the 
north-east, were clearly defined and strongly fortified ; and 
her court was the most brilliant and most polished in 
Europe. 

Louis' appetite for pleasure seemed to grow hand in 
hand with his love of work. Night after night at the 
palace there were fetes, dances, and mj^thological or 



312 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

classic pageants, in which he delighted to display his fine 
person, tricked out as Apollo, the Sun God, vaunting the 
motto ' Nee pluribus impar ' round his famous device of the 
sun, as if like Alexander he longed for other worlds to 
dazzle with his light. But whether engaged with the 
details of the administration of France or with the 
organisation of the pleasures of his court, his brain was 
always busy with the great problem of how he might play 
the role of Charlemagne in Europe. 

Louis had never intended to allow his wife's renunciation 
of the Spanish crown to stand in the way of his ambitions. 
His correspondence with his Spanish agent, the Archbishop 
of Embrun, only too clearly discloses the fact. Nothing is 
more cynical than the archbishop's letter in which he 
declares his feelings while celebrating Mass at Madrid, 
and he explains that while praying openly for the royal 
family he did not forget ' all the while to pray secretly, as 
I am bound, for the prosperity of your majesty, and hoping 
for the moment (that is, the death of Philip iv. and his son 
Charles) when it may be permitted me to pray here for 
your majesty aloud.' 

In 1665, Philip IV. died, leaving one son, Charles 11., 
a sickly child. Louis at once seized the occasion to enlarge 
his boundaries. On the strength of an old local feudal 
custom of the province of Brabant called the ' Jus 
Devolutionis,' by which in the event of a second marriage 
a landed estate went to the issue, male or female, of the 
first marriage, he claimed for his wife Luxemburg and the 
Spanish Netherlands. He added as a further justification 
that as descendants of Charlemagne ' the kings of France 
were their natural lords before kings of Castile even existed 
at all.' But it was not till August 1667, that his plans were 
ready ; then, with a large army under Turenne, he seized 
Charleroi, Lille and Tournai : the whole of the Spanish 
Netherlands lay at his mercy. Later, in February 1668, 



LOUIS XIV 313 

during a short winter campaign Franche Comte was com- 
pletely overrun by Conde. 

Europe was astonished by this sudden display of strength 
on the part of France ; it was clear to all that the centre of 
power had changed. The maritime states of Holland, 
Sweden and England, lately so jealous of each other, 
could not allow the Netherlands to fall a prey to this new 
great power. A Triple Alhance was concluded, in January 
1668, whereby each promised to help the others if attacked, 
and to endeavour to restore peace between France and 
Spain. Meanwhile, Louis, foreseeing this storm centre, 
in the same month made a secret treaty with the emperor 
for the eventual partition of the Spanish empire. The 
result was that the war came to a speedy end. By the 
Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, in May 1668, in return for evacuat- 
ing Franche Comte, Louis was granted twelve strongholds 
in the Netherlands. This treaty was a diplomatic victory 
for France, as the north-eastern frontier was the only 
weak spot in her defences. It procured for Louis a 
reputation for moderation ; while the secret treaty with 
the emperor was one step gained on the way to the 
absorption of the Spanish empire. The War of Devolution 
is an important event in Louis' life. It sowed in his heart 
the seeds which were to lead to his undoing, for by 
teaching him the immense superiority of his arms and of 
his diplomacy, it fired his growing self-confidence and 
pride ; while it left in his mind an undying grudge against 
the Dutch, who had deserted his alliance and raised up 
against him the Triple Alliance. It was by his efforts 
to avenge himself on them that ultimately his plans 
miscarried. 

The next two years were spent in scheming vengeance. 
By secret treaties with England, Sweden, and the emperor, 
the Dutch were gradually isolated. Meanwhile, at home, 
Vauban was busy reorganising the defences of the ceded 



314 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

fortresses, and the Huguenots were made to feel that in 
some way they were responsible for the insolence of the 
Protestant Republicans of Holland. All the time Louvois, 
the great war minister, was incessantly engaged in perfect- 
ing the French army. 

The year 1672 was the turning-point in the reign. Two 
policies were open to Louis. For the one stood Colbert, 
for the other stood Louvois. Colbert offered him the pos- 
sibility of building up a colonial empire such as the world 
had never before seen, and of making France the work- 
shop of Europe. As part of such a scheme Leibnitz, the 
philosopher, pointed out to him the possibihty of conquer- 
ing Egypt and turning the Mediterranean into a French 
lake. On the other hand stood Louvois, ' the most brutal 
of agents,* the incarnation of the policy of aggrandisement, 
offering him an army which no power in Europe could 
resist, while the now politically disinherited nobles were 
clamouring for the chance of distinguishing themselves on 
the battlefield. Unfortunately for Louis he allowed 
personal ambition and the desire for vengeance to conquer, 
and he determined to crush the Dutch. ' My father,' he 
boasted, ' built them up, but I will tear them down.' 

The die was cast. As Voltaire wrote, ' All that the 
efforts of human ambition and prudence could prepare for 
the destruction of a nation he had done,' and May 1672 
found the king marching northwards with Turenne and 
120,000 armed men at his back. The Dutch could offer 
practically no resistance, so pushing down the Meuse, 
masking the important fortress of Maestricht, the French 
army, after successfully crossing the Rhine at Tolhuys, 
found itself, on June 13th, on the Yssel with all the great 
fortresses safely passed and nothing between it and 
Amsterdam. Then Louis took upon himself to override 
the advice of Conde and Turenne, and instead of dashing 
straight forward began his favourite pastime of besieging 



LOUIS XIV 315 

towns. This gave the Dutch a few days' breathing space, 
in which they overthrew their ohgarchical government, 
and summoned the young Prince of Orange to the 
stadtholdership. WilHam lost not a moment ; he at once 
ordered the sluices to be opened, and Amsterdam was 
soon safely surrounded by an inland sea. Thus it was 
that Louis was responsible for calHng into the field the 
one man in Europe who was able to withstand him, and 
turned, what might have been one of the most brilliantly 
decisive campaigns known to history, into a stalemate. 
By September Holland's allies, the emperor and the dukes 
of Lorraine, Brunswick and Hesse, had their armies in the 
field ; Montecuculi, the only soldier able to hold his own 
against Cond^ or Turenne, was on the Rhine, and the 
French lost the initiative. The war lasted six and a half 
years. It is remarkable for the great strategic campaigns 
fought on either side of the Rhine between Turenne 
and Montecuculi ; for the famous display of military 
engineering in the Spanish Netherlands, where Vauban 
delighted Louis' heart by his skill in capturing and 
fortifying fortresses ; for the brutal devastation of the 
Palatinate (in 1674) ; for the success of the French fleets 
against the Dutch in the Mediterranean ; and for the 
fickleness of England, whose King Charles was in Louis* 
pay, while the nation at heart desired to save the Nether- 
lands and Holland from the French. 

The war came to an end, in August 1679, by the Treaty 
of Nimeguen, whereby France was confirmed in the 
possession of Franche Comte and virtually also of Lorraine ; 
for, as in 1659, the Duke of Lorraine refused to accept 
the terms offered him. The Dutch were secured in their 
possessions, and, as a barrier against France, were allowed 
to fortify and occupy certain fortresses on the French 
border of the Spanish Netherlands, known as th6 ' barrier 
fortresses.' Thus, in spite of the fact that Europe had 



3i6 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

really taught Louis there were limits to his ambition, to his 
contemporaries the peace seemed ' as it were to establish the 
domination of France over all Europe : her king had risen 
to be the arbiter of all in this portion of our hemisphere.' 

But France had had to pay a great price for the triumphs 
of her king. The war had strained the revenues of the 
country ; the people were overtaxed ; the fields were 
lying uncultivated ; the new industries were languishing ; 
and murmurs were heard on all sides. Yet to the outward 
eye she still seemed magnificent. The great pompous 
palace of Versailles was approaching completion ; the 
dauphin had just married a Bavarian princess, Maria 
Anne ; a chain of armies three hundred thousand strong 
defended her frontiers or attacked her foes ; Charles oi 
England, the Swedes, Bavaria, Hanover, Cologne and 
Miinster were all in French pay. Louis stood on the top- 
most pinnacle of his fame. In 1681, the city of Paris 
voted him the title of ' le grand ' : Pellisson, the historian, 
called him a visible miracle ; and when, in 1679, his statue 
was unveiled at Paris in the Place des Victoires, la 
Feuillade ' then rode round at the head of his regiment of 
guards, with all those prostrations which in old times the 
pagans used before the statues of their emperors.' 

The year 1679 is another turning-point in the reign of 
Louis. Naturally cold-hearted and selfish, as Saint-Simon 
said, ' he cared for no one, and thought of no one but 
himself, and was all in all to himself.' Up till now he had 
thought but of the pleasures of this life, now he began to 
think of the future. His mistress, Madame de Montespan, 
to whom he had been more or less attached for almost 
twenty years, was haughty, imperious, and the terror of 
the court. As long back as 1666, she had taken as the 
governess for her children, Fran9oise d'Aubigne, widow of 
a comic-poet called Scarron, granddaughter of d'Aubigne, 
the friend of Henry iv. At first Louis cordially disliked 



LOUIS XIV 317 

this woman, calling her a ' Precieuse ' ; but with a cold 
temperament she * went quietly but carried far.' Bit by 
bit the king's dislike gave way before her placid beauty, 
until at last she became his sole desire. So completely 
did he fall under her influence that on the death of his 
unfortunate queen, in 1683, he married Madame Scarron, 
or, as she was now called, Madame de Maintenon. For 
thirty-two years this lady ruled France, for Louis did 
nothing without consulting her. Madame de Maintenon 
was a sort of ' female Jesuit.' ' She believed herself to be 
a universal abbess, especially in spiritual matters.' A 
devote, her great desire was first to win Louis to religion, 
and secondly to bring all Frenchmen within the bonds of 
the Catholic Church. It was the result of her influence 
working on Louis' well-known desire for uniformity and 
his dislike of the Huguenots as bad citizens — ' a state 
within a state, guilty of disorder, revolt, warfare at home, 
disloyal alliances abroad ' — which, in 1681, caused him to 
commence his attempt to stamp them out. Every means 
was tried to make them change their religion ; they were 
offered rewards for their conversion ; and, when these failed, 
soldiers were arbitrarily quartered on them at the advice 
of Louvois, in 1684 (the Dragonnades) . At last, in 1685, 
came the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. The net 
result of Madame de Maintenon 's interference in religious 
affairs was that France lost some quarter of a million of 
her most industrious citizens by emigration, imprisonment, 
or confinement in the galleys. 

Nothing perhaps illustrates better Louis' political ideals 
than the fact that, at the very moment he was putting into 
execution these repressive measures against the Huguenots, 
he was quarrelling with the pope. The quarrel arose over 
the question of the ' regale ' ; that is, the right of the crown 
to the enjoyment of the emoluments of a see during a 
\^acancy. It developed into a question as to the con- 



3i8 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

stitutional position of the Church, and culminated in an 
attempt on the part of Louis, Hke Henry viii., to set up a 
National Church. Four resolutions were passed, in 1680 : 
(i), that sovereigns are not subject to the pope ; (2), that 
a General Council is superior to the pope ; (3), that the 
pope is bound by the regulations of the councils ; (4), 
that the pope is not infallible. The quarrel lasted for ten 
years, and ended in the withdrawal of the resolutions on 
the recognition by the Papacy of royal nominations. 

Meanwhile, Louis was gradually absorbing by chicanery 
those provinces which he had not yet gained by war. 
He hit on the ingenious device of establishing Chambres 
des Reunions, or courts, to declare that the remainder 
of Alsace and Lorraine actually had been ceded to France. 
There was, no doubt, some sufficient pretext for an inquiry, 
as many towns had been surrendered ' with their depen- 
dencies.' But as these tribunals were purely French 
there could be no doubt as to their decisions, and all 
Alsace, Zweibriicken and Saarbriick were adjudged to 
France. Thereon Louis at once entered into military 
occupation of all these districts, including the important 
fortress of Strassburg. Meanwhile, the emperor was busily 
engaged in defending Vienna from the Turks, so on the 
same day that he occupied Strassburg Louis also seized 
Casale in Piedmont. Spain tried to resist his pretensions 
in Luxemburg, but after a short war was glad to assent 
to the Truce of Ratisbon (1684), whereby Louis was 
allowed to hold for twenty years all the possessions he had 
thus gained. 

After the Truce of Ratisbon there foUowed four years of 
uneasy peace. The effect of revoking the Edict of Nantes 
was to disgust the Elector of Brandenburg and to irritate 
England. In Germany it began to be felt chat the house 
of Bourbon was far more to be feared than the house of 
Hapsburg. When, in 1685, on the death, without heir, of 



LOUIS XIV 319 

the elector palatine, Louis claimed the lower Palatinate for 
the late elector's sister, wife of Philip of Orleans, the 
Germans formed the League of Augsburg. Catholics as well 
as Protestants joined the league, and even the pope him- 
self secretly gave adhesion to it. The object of the league 
was to watch over the political independence of Europe. 
The strange sight was then seen of Austria and Spain 
leagued together to protect liberty of conscience, while 
Louis was designing to aid James 11. of England to establish 
a political and religious despotism such as he had himself 
set up in France. But James was never so faithful a 
henchman as his brother Charles had been. As early as 
1677, at the time of the marriage of Mary to William of 
Orange, there had been friction between Louis and James. 
' Nephew,' the grand monarch had said, ' remember that 
love and war do not agree well together.' Men said that 
Louis ' received the news of this marriage as he would have 
done the loss of an army.' 

When James became king, though even more desirous 
than his brother of converting England to Catholicism, he 
determined to do so in his own manner. Louis took 
offence, and thought that by leaving him alone he would 
teach him a lesson. So, in 1688, by moving his troops to 
the Rhine to interfere in a disputed election to the arch- 
bishopric of Cologne, he brought on his head the League of 
Augsburg, and gave William the opportunit}/ of invading 
England. He had never calculated that this would mean 
that James would lose his throne, for he had not realised 
how English opinion had changed since the days of 
Monmouth's Rebellion. Nothing more clearly displays 
his want of true capacity and insight than his decision at 
this moment, against all advice, to neglect the real issue for 
the sake of mere personal pique. He could not gauge the 
real greatness of William, who, when he heard of his 
decision, exclaimed, ' Aut nunc, aut nunquam.' 



320 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

The war of the League of Augsburg thus Hghtly entered 
upon lasted ten years, and in the end Louis had to acknow- 
ledge that his own want of foresight had allowed his 
greatest enemy to join to the stadtholdership of Holland 
the crown of England. Ihe struggle was marked by the 
ultimate success of the English and Dutch fleets over the 
French, and by a war of sieges in the Netherlands. On 
land France held her own. Her armies, trained in the 
great camps of instruction during peace time, even though 
led by second-class men like Villeroi and Boufflers, were able 
to hold their own against the combined Dutch and English 
forces under William, one of the keenest but most un- 
fortunate of amateur soldiers. As the war dragged on, 
both sides began to long for peace. William was hampered 
by the English parliament, and the ill-health of Charles ii. 
of Spain made it certain that Europe would soon be faced 
with the question of the Spanish succession. Louis 
urgently desired a few years of quiet to make ready for 
the great struggle which he knew would follow on Charles' 
death. The Peace of Ryswick (1698) was therefore only 
a breathing space. France surrendered everything she 
had captured since the Treaty of Nimeguen except 
Strassburg, allowed the Dutch to regarrison the barrier 
fortresses, and acknowledged William as King of England 
and Anne as his heir. 

During the war of the League of Augsburg the last of 
the great pupils of Mazarin disappeared from the field. 
Colbert, the commercial genius, Louvois, the great military 
organiser, and Seignelay, the naval constructor, all died. 
But Louis did not at first appreciate their loss, so ob- 
sessed was he with the notion that he himself had done 
everything. His attitude is well illustrated when he 
selected Barbesieux, Louvois' son, to succeed to the 
War Office. Barbesieux pleaded his inexperience and 
youth, and told the king that the task was too great for 



LOUIS XIV 321 

him, but the Grand Monarch merely repHed : ' Do not 
distrust yourself ; I formed your father and will form you.' 
The infatuated king had really no conception of the state 
of his kingdom. The continual wars had ruined both rich 
and poor. As Villeroi wrote at the time of the victories 
of Fleurus and Neerwinden — ' the people perish of want 
to the sound of the Te Deum.' Again, in 1693, Fenelon 
said : ' France is only a large hospital desolate and without 
food.' Meanwhile, Louis continued to waste millions in 
erecting and keeping up his palaces at Versailles, Trianon 
and Marly, and to evolve plan after plan for adding to the 
glory of his house by seizing for one of his grandsons the 
crown of Spain. 

Every statesman felt that the death of Charles 11. of 
Spain would open up issues which could only be decided 
by war. For the Spanish empire was still so great that 
every power was in some way interested in it. There were 
three fairly strong claimants. First, the Dauphin through 
his mother, Maria Theresa, sister of Philip iv. ; but she 
had renounced her claim under conditions, one of which 
being that a certain dowry should be paid, but this had 
never been done. Secondly, the Emperor Leopold, whose 
mother was a sister of Philip iv., and whose first wife was 
a younger daughter of that monarch. Neither his mother 
nor his wife had ever renounced her claim, and Leopold 
declared his second son Charles as his candidate. Thirdly, 
there was the young son of the Elector of Bavaria. The 
elector had married Maria, daughter of the Emperor 
Leopold, but at her marriage she had renounced her claim. 
Still, the electoral prince was really the most suitable 
candidate from all points of view. In fact he was the only 
one whose accession would not disturb ' the balance of 
power,' and Charles 11. had caused a will to be made in 
his favour. Meanwhile, in 1698, Louis and William iii. 
agreed to a Partition Treaty, whereby the electoral prince 

X 



322 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

was to succeed to Spain, the Spanish Netherlands and the 
Spanish possessions in the New World, but the Dauphin 
was to have the two Sicilies, the Tuscan Ports, and 
Guipuzcoa, while the archduke Charles was to have Milan. 
The Spanish king was furious at hearing of the proposed 
division, but before he could do anything the electoral 
prince died. Thereon Louis sent to Spain as his ambassador 
Harcourt, a master of intrigue, with the object of defeating 
the Austrian party who, relying on the queen, a Hapsburg, 
were striving to get the archduke Charles nominated as 
heir in place of the electoral prince. As a second string to 
his bow Louis opened fresh negotiations with William, 
and, in March 1700, concluded a second Partition Treaty, 
whereby the archduke was to have all that the former 
treaty had set aside for the electoral prince ; while the 
Dauphin was, in addition to his former share, to have 
Milan, which he might exchange for Lorraine. 

Harcourt, however, was successful in his efforts, and a 
month before he died Charles made a new will, leaving to 
the Duke of Anjou, Louis' younger grandson, the whole of 
the Spanish dominions. The news of Charles' death 
reached Versailles on November 9th, 1700. For a week 
Louis went through the farce of considering whether he 
should abide by his treaty or accept the will. Then, on 
November i6th, at a full levee, he pointed to the Duke of 
Anjou, saying, ' Gentlemen, there is the King of Spain. 
The Spanish crown is his by the right of birth, by the 
will of the late king, and by the unanimous wish of the 
entire nation. This is the will of God. I yield to it with 
pleasure.' 

For the moment it seemed as if Louis was going to be 
allowed peaceably to enjoy what he had schemed for all 
his life, and what was so aptly expressed by the Spaniard 
Castel de Rios in the words, 'II n'y a plus de Pyrenees : 
elles sont abimees et nous ne sommes plus qu'un.' PhiHp 



LOUIS XIV 323 

V. set out for his new dominions, and, in spite of murmur- 
ings, war might have been avoided. But Louis, with 
strange rashness, seemed to desire to challenge the whole 
of Europe. First he formally declared that the right of 
the Duke of Anjou to the French crown was in no way 
impaired; next, in 1701, he expelled the Dutch from 
the barrier fortresses ; and then, in September of the same 
year, on the death of James 11., he acknowledged the 
Elder Pretender as the rightful king of England. The 
emperor had no longer any difficulty in finding the allies 
he had been seeking; and in the winter, 1701-1702, the 
Grand Alliance was formed of the emperor, England, the 
Dutch, the King of Prussia, and the Grand Duke of Hesse, 
with the object of breaking up the Franco-Spanish empire, 
and giving Italy to the emperor and the Indies to the 
' maritime powers.' 

William iii. died before the war broke out, but under 
the leadership of Marlborough and Eugene the allies 
gradually drove back the French armies. Blenheim, 
Ramillies and Oudenarde, for the moment, seemed to tame 
the spirit of the French. By 1709, Louis was glad to listen 
to terms of peace. But at the conference which met at 
The Hague, the allies, flushed with victory, demanded that 
he should aid them in turning his grandson out of Spain. 
This Louis proudly refused to do, and sympathy turned 
to his side. No one could help admiring the old king, who 
exclaimed, * If I must fight I will fight my foes, not my 
children.* The battle of Malplaquet showed that French- 
men could still fight. Meanwhile, the death of his elder 
brother made the archduke Charles the heir of the Austrian 
dominions, and a revolution in politics in England brought 
the Tories into power. So, in 1712, England withdrew 
from the Alliance, and Villeroi successfully drove back the 
Dutch and Imperialists in the Netherlands. Peace was 
at last established, in 1713, by the Treaties of Utrecht, 



324 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

whereby France recognised the Protestant succession in 
England, ceded the barrier fortresses to the Dutch, while 
Naples, Milan, Sardinia, and the Netherlands fell to the 
emperor ; and Philip, in return for renouncing all claims 
to the crown of France, was confirmed in the possession 
of Spain and the Spanish dominions in the New World. 

The later years of the Wars of the Spanish Succession 
showed Louis at his best. With misfortunes thick around 
him he maintained a dignified and courageous attitude ; 
neither the defeat of his armies nor his own personal sor- 
rows could break down his dignity. Death seemed to have 
encircled his family in its arms. In April 171 1, the Dauphin 
died, a man of no character or influence. Ten months 
later the Duchess of Burgundy followed her father-in-law 
to the grave, ' never princess so much regretted, never 
one so worthy of regret.' Within a few days of her death 
her husband, the Duke of Burgundy, the pupil of Fenelon, 
a prince of great promise, followed her to the grave, to be 
followed in turn by his elder boy, a child four years old, 
while the younger son Louis, Duke of Anjou, a baby in 
arms, only escaped by the most careful nursing. Mean- 
while, the general wretchedness throughout France was 
appalling. ' France had been stripped to her shirt ' before 
the War of the Spanish Succession began. As Vauban 
said: 'The peasant did not wear a crown's worth of 
clothing.' As the war proceeded houses fell down and 
there was nobody to rebuild them ; cattle were so scarce 
that meat could not be procured ; food riots broke out 
everywhere ; and commerce disappeared. Nothing can 
describe the appalling state of the country, which we must 
remember was brought about by the purely dynastic policy 
of the crown. But what is a still graver indictment of 
Louis is the fact that, during these costly wars, in the 
midst of all the misery which surrounded him, the expenses 
of the court were in no way reduced. It seemed as if he 



I 



LOUIS XIV 325 

regarded any economy at court as a ' kind of sacrilege 
against the monarchy.' 

Louis did not long survive the War of the Spanish 
Succession. He at last seemed to recognise the terrible 
burden he had enforced on his country. His remaining 
years were spent in peace, carefully watched over by his 
loving wife, Madame de Maintenon. On September ist, 
1715, he breathed his last, leaving his crown to his great 
grandson, the Duke of Anjou, providing a regency for him 
under the presidency of the Duke of Orleans. In his last 
advice to his successor he seemed to have recognised his 
own shortcomings, ' Never forget the obligations you owe 
to God. . . . Try to keep peace with your neighbours : 
I have been too fond of war : do not imitate me in that, 
nor in my too great expenditure.' Then turning to his 
domestics, ' Why weep ? did you think me immortal ? ' 
To his courtiers he said, * I pass away, but the state remains 
for ever. Continue faithful to it, and set an example to 
my other subjects.' 

It is a commonplace nowadays to say that the French 
Revolution was the direct outcome of the reign of Louis 
XIV., and so, no doubt, in a sense it was. For by dis- 
possessing the nobles of all political influence, by with- 
drawing them from the management of their estates and 
of local affairs, and compelhng them to become mere 
popinjays at his court, he divorced them from their duties. 
At the same time he allowed them to retain their now 
meaningless and vexatious seigneurial rights and their 
immunity, to a great extent, from taxation, thus turning 
them into a useless and hateful caste. Moreover, by the 
system of centralisation whereby the ' parlements ' gradually 
disappeared, and local self-government was superseded by 
the king's Intendants and their officers, he built up a 
bureaucracy which was absolutely out of sympathy with 
the people and their needs. So completely did the 



326 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

administration of France become centralised that, as de 
Tocqueville points out, if a slate fell off the roof of a parish 
church, it could not be replaced till authority for so doing 
had been received from the king's council. But while 
Louis must have his share in the responsibility for the 
development of such a state of affairs, we must remember 
that he was only carrying out what the nation demanded. 
For we shall see later that the attempt of the revolution 
to decentralise the government was a failure, and that 
the restoration of what was really the old royal system 
of government, under a different name, by Napoleon was 
exceedingly popular. In a word Louis, like Henry viii. 
of England, in his political and religious reforms merely 
expressed the desire of the nation at large. 

In his memoirs the Grand Monarch has left behind 
him his conception of royalty. * Kings,' he wrote, ' are 
absolute lords, and have by nature the full and free dis- 
position of the property of all, alike that of the Church and 
of the laity. . . . Nothing establishes so surely the happi- 
ness and welfare of the country as the perfect union of all 
authority in the power of the sovereign. The least divi- 
sion works great evils. . . . The prince cannot allow his 
authority to be shared by others, without making himself 
responsible for the infinite disorder which ensues. ... To 
receive the law from his people is the worst calamity that 
can befall one of our rank. The will of God is, that he 
who is born a subject should obey and make no question.' 
But, though Louis built up an imposing structure it had 
no foundation, for there was no strong healthy local self- 
government to reinforce the central power. The different 
elements of national life instead of becoming welded 
together sprang further and further apart, so that when 
the strain came, and popular discontent at last made 
itself felt, the whole edifice fell with a crash. 

Yet he would have been a bold man who would have 



LOUIS XIV 327 

foretold such a disaster at the time of the death of Louis ; 
for, in spite of everything, France still seemed the greatest 
power in Europe. Her language was the language of 
diplomacy at every court ; every sovereign, great or 
small, aimed at copying the splendid magnificence and 
etiquette of Versailles ; French literature from the pen 
of Corneille, Racine and Moliere was the delight of every 
cultivated person in the world ; and although there were 
signs of decay in the drama, the pen of Voltaire was still 
to revolutionise European thought. In art and fashion 
France continued to lead the way. Her manufactures 
though drooping might easily have regained their pre- 
dominance after a few years of peace. Her colonial pos- 
sessions in America were the envy of the ' maritime powers,' 
and her army was still the pattern of all European forces 
in numbers, discipline, equipment and administration. 
In a word, granted that she had had a capable ruler, 
instead of the pleasure-loving Louis xv. and the dull, 
stupid Louis xvi., she might have been spared the horrors 
of the Revolution, and have been to this day the leading 
country of Europe. 

We see then that Louis' reign was not of necessity the 
ruin of France. We turn now to discuss his character as 
a man, and here we must confess that, in spite of his 
dignity, his courtesy and his polished manners, he was 
as selfish in his private capacity as in his public. His 
courtiers and the leaders of his court might be dying of 
fatigue, but still the most minute ceremony must be 
performed, for he never could forget what he thought 
was due to his greatness. Yet even here we must remember 
that if he exacted the utmost farthing from those about 
him he never spared himself. * We are not private 
persons,' he said, ' we owe our duties to the pubhc' As 
Michelet wrote : ' His ministers might change or die ; 
he, always the same, went through his duties, ceremonies. 



328 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

royal fetes, and the like with the regularity of the sun which 
he had chosen as his emblem.' With him as with Napoleon 
egotism had become a disease. He could not understand 
that a million of his subjects might refuse to change their 
religion at his command. His narrow, bigoted nature 
could not grasp the idea of toleration. His conception of 
his duty was self-aggrandisement. How strange it would 
have seemed to him if he had heard the exordium of 
his own funeral service preached by the famous orator 
Massillon : * This great king, the terror of his neighbours, 
the amazement of the universe, the father of kings : this 
king greater than his great ancestor, more magnificent 
than Solomon in all his glory, has also learnt that all is 
vanity.' 



FREDERIC THE GREAT 

The eighteenth century is pre-eminently the age of the 
benevolent despot. Louis xiv. had taught the world the 
success that could be attained by a carefully centralised 
power holding in its hands all threads of domestic, foreign, 
naval, and miUtary policy. But Louis xiv. had organised 
his state not for the good of his subjects, but to satisfy his 
dynastic aspirations. 

With the eighteenth century we enter on a new phase of 
political thought. Voltaire, its great expounder, taught 
the sovereigns of Europe that they existed not so much for 
the glory of their families as for the good of their people. 
His works were studied far and wide, and at one time or 
another his pupils sat on nearly every throne in Europe. 
Amongst those who most eagerly tried to carry out his 
theories were Charles iii. of Spain, the Emperor Joseph ii., 
Frederic ii. of Prussia, and Catherine ii. of Russia. But 
we must remember, firstly, that while all these sovereigns 
were bent on securing the prosperity and good government 
of their subjects, their motto was government for the 
people, and they would have raised their hands in horror 
at the thought of government by the people ; secondly, 
that in nearly every country in Europe, except in France, 
the peasants had not yet emerged from serfdom ; and, 
thirdly, that to secure the * balance of power ' it was an 
every day political contrivance to transfer a province or 
country, from one power to another, without in the least 
degree consulting the wishes of the inhabitants. 

329 



330 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

We remember that the War of the Spanish Succession 
was fought to prevent the amalgamation of France and 
Spain, because in the view of the other powers such a 
combination would have spoiled the * balance of power,' 
which oscillated between the Bourbons and the Hapsburgs. 
The whole of the energy of the diplomatic world for the 
twenty-five years which followed the death of Louis xiv. 
was concentrated on preventing Elizabeth Farnese, the 
ambitious wife of the King of Spain, from upsetting the 
balance established by the Treaty of Utrecht. There 
were three other disturbing factors in the situation. First, 
the constant friction between England and Spain over 
trade questions in the West Indies. Secondly, the 
unfortunate circumstance that the Emperor Charles vi. 
had no male heir, and that in spite of the adherence of 
most of the powers to the Law (the Pragmatic Sanction) 
which he promulgated, whereby the possession of the 
Austrian dominions was to pass to his daughter Maria 
Theresa, it was very doubtful whether the other claimants 
would acquiesce in this decision. Thirdly, there was the 
fact that, under Peter the Great and his successors, Russia 
was gradually forcing her way westwards at the expense 
of her neighbours, Sweden and Poland. But, up to the 
last moment, there was not a single diplomatist who could 
have foretold that it was the King of Prussia who would 
light the match which set Europe in a blaze, and pro- 
claimed to the world that the hegemony of Germany 
was passing from the Hapsburgs to the house of 
Hohenzollern. 

The nucleus of the kingdom of Prussia was the Mark of 
Brandenburg. In 928, the emperor, Henry the Fowler, 
captured the fortress of Brannibor and established there 
a Margrave or Warden of the Marches. By the middle of 
the twelfth century, thanks to the Margrave Albert the 
Bear (died 1170), the rulers of Brandenburg had success- 



FREDERIC THE GREAT 331 

fully crushed the heathen Wends, and in the thirteenth 
century the then margrave became one of the electors 
(Kurfiirst) of the Holy Roman Empire. As we remember, 
about the time of the Emperor Charles iv. the Ascanian 
branch died out, and the electorate fell into the hands of 
the Luxemburgs. But Charles' successor, Sigismund, made 
it over to the Hohenzollern Burgrave of Nuremberg, whose 
relatives were margraves of Culmbach, which included 
Anspach and Baireuth. One of the Culmbach Hohen- 
zollerns was Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, and 
by the advice of Luther put an end to his order and did 
homage to the King of Poland for the duchy of East 
Prussia. The duchy, in 1568, became hereditary in the 
Culmbach family, and, by a family agreement, on the 
failure of his line, in 1618, it fell to Joachim 11., the Elector 
of Brandenburg. Then Joachim himself made an agree- 
ment with the Duke of Liegnitz, whereby if either the 
Brandenburg line or the Liegnitz line failed, the surviving 
line should combine both countries. By a sixteenth- 
century marriage the HohenzoUerns also had a claim to 
Cleve, Jiilich and Berg. 

We have seen how, during the Thirty Years' War, George 
William of Brandenburg tried to remain neutral, with the 
result that he lost Pomerania, and both parties at times 
overran his country. He was succeeded, in 1640, by his 
son Frederic William, the Great Elector, a prince of much 
greater force of character. He set on foot a standing 
army, recaptured a large part of Pomerania, and rearranged 
his territories and the administration of his domains, with 
such success, that his son Frederic was rich and strong 
enough to demand from the emperor (1701), in return for 
his aid in the Spanish Succession Wars, the title of King of 
Prussia. King Frederic lost a great opportunity when he 
failed to make any real use of the collapse of the Swedish 
power after the battle of Poltava (1709), when the Russians 



332 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

completely destroyed the armies of Charles xii. But in 
spite of his participation in the War of the Spanish 
Succession, and of his great ostentation, the population 
of his states increased, and the revenue doubled during 
his reign. 

His son Frederic William, who succeeded him, in 1713, 
was his exact opposite : with him parsimony was a craze, 
his only extravagance being the purchase of giants to fill 
the ranks of his grenadiers. Under him Prussia soon 
began to experience the benefits that a country gains 
from a first-class administrator. Like his predecessor, 
Frederic William recognised that without the army the 
scattered possessions of the Prussian king, so surrounded 
by enemies and liable to invasion, could never be kept 
together. He also knew full well that unless the country 
was prosperous and the population grew, it would be 
impossible to maintain such an army. * If the country 
is thickly populated that is true wealth,' he wrote in his 
instructions for the guidance of his successor. He pointed 
out that if the government protected the industries of the 
country, * then you will see how your revenues increase 
and your land prospers.' Again he added, * A country 
without industries is a human body without life, a dead 
country . . . therefore I beg you, my dear successor, 
maintain the industries, protect them, and tend their 
growth.' With these objects in view the king reorganised 
the whole of the administration, established at Berlin a 
General Directory as a central administrative department 
for all matters of finance, war, and the administration of 
the royal estates. The General Directory had subsidiary 
administrative bodies responsible to it in each province, 
beneath which were Councillors of Taxes for particular 
towns or groups of towns. Such was the nucleus of the 
bureaucracy which governed Prussia till the battle of 
Jena. It was so omnipotent that not a single municipal 



FREDERIC THE GREAT 333 

officer could be appointed without the authority of the 
Grand Directory, nor a single groschen spent by any local 
body without the authority of one of the Councillors of 
Taxes. The result of these reforms was that by the end of 
the reign the army had grown from 38,000 to 84,000 ; the 
revenue had doubled ; the population, thanks to state- 
aided immigration, had increased to five million ; and at 
his death the king left a war reserve in cash of ten million 
thalers. 

Frederic 11. of Prussia, better known as Frederic the 
Great, was born on January 24th, 1712. Unfortunately for 
his peace of mind during his younger years, he had inherited 
the temperament of his grandmother, Sophie Charlotte, 
the friend of Leibnitz. From an early age his delight in 
music and speculative philosophy grated against the hard 
Calvinistic nature of his father, Frederic William, in whose 
eyes plays, operas, ballets, masquerades and fancy balls, 
as likewise excess in eating and drinking, were ungodly 
and of the devil. The king set himself to crush his son's 
vivacity, and from his seventh year subjected him to an 
iron course of discipline. From the moment the boy rose 
at six in the morning till half-past ten at night — when he 
must be in bed — every moment of the day and the week 
was carefully planned out : the words of his prayers, the 
length of time for changing his clothes, whether he should 
wash his face with soap or not, nothing was overlooked. 
Religion, morality, writing in German, the study of maps 
and geography, arithmetic, the writing of French, * a 
little getting by heart of something, to strengthen the 
memory,' such was the prescribed course. Music and 
philosophy could only be acquired by stealth in moments 
set apart for recreation. Latin was anathema. Once the 
king found one of the tutors reading the Golden Bull to 
his son in Latin. The tutor explained what he was doing, 
but in spite of this the king rushed at him, swinging his 



334 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

cane, shouting out, ' I '11 Golden Bull you, you rascal,' 
and the unfortunate man fled from the room to save his 
skin. The whole object of this system of education was 
to harden the boy into a soldier, and for this reason a 
company of young nobles was formed for him to drill, 
and much of his time was occupied with military tutors 
and on the parade ground. 

As the young Frederic grew up the want of sympathy 
between him and his father deepened into active hatred. 
Frederic was extremely sensitive, and if it had not been for 
the love of his mother and of his sister Wilhelmina his spirit 
would have been completely crushed by his coarse, unfeeling 
father, for, as he said of himself, he was * a man with more 
sensibility than other men.' When he was about eighteen 
his father one day in a rage tried to strangle him with a 
window cord. About the same time he tried to force him 
to resign his position as heir-apparent ; but he refused 
with spirit — * No ! unless your majesty is prepared to deny 
the honour of my mother.' Life under such conditions 
became so unbearable that Frederic, while on a tour through 
Germany, determined to escape to England. Unfortunately 
his design was discovered, and he and his friend, Lieutenant 
Katte, were arrested. In his fury Frederic William 
had them both tried by court-martial as deserters from 
the army. The court, composed of the king's particular 
cronies, sentenced the crown prince to death and Katte 
to perpetual imprisonment. But the king overrode their 
sentence, and decreed that Katte also should die. It was 
only by the intervention of the emperor that the young 
prince was at last spared, but with a refinement of cruelty 
Frederic William compelled him to witness the execution 
of his friend. 

The old madman prayed for his son ' that his godless 
heart may be beaten till it is softened and changed, and 
he be snatched from the claws of Satan.' He continued 



FREDERIC THE GREAT 335 

to play the part of providence, banishing Frederic to 
Ciistrin, where, dispossessed of his mihtary rank, he was 
set to learn practical economics as a member of the Board 
for Managing Domain Lands. He was not allowed to 
return to court for a year, and when he did so his sister 
Wilhelmina, who had been married three days previously, 
found him completely changed. His vivacity was gone ; 
he was no longer the warm, affectionate brother of old 
times, but a cold, self-contained man, critical and 
calculating, determined to give just so much obedience to 
his father as should prevent another such outbreak, but 
otherwise set on pursuing his own way. He bowed to 
his father's will by marrying, in June 1732, the Princess 
of Brunswick-Bevern, but thereafter practically never saw 
the unfortunate lady. He spent all the time he could spare 
from his military duties at his country residence at Rheins- 
berg, where with a select body of friends he played the 
flute, talked philosophy, and corresponded with Voltaire. 

The key to Frederic William's foreign policy was obed- 
ience to the emperor and the maintenance of the integrity 
of the empire. But in spite of his loyal support on all 
occasions, the Kaiser simply made use of him ; and, in 
1738, on the approaching extinction of the Neuburg line in 
Jiilich and Berg, instead of helping the Prussian king to 
gain these provinces as he had promised, he joined the 
coalition against him. From this blow Frederic William 
never recovered. Speaking of the emperor he said, ' That 
was the man who killed me. Then and there I got my 
death.' Then pointing to his son he exclaimed, ' There 
stands one who will avenge me.' On May 31st, 1740, 
Frederic William died, and on October 20th of the same 
year the Emperor Charles vi. breathed his last. Two 
months later Europe entered on a period of twenty years of 
practically continuous war, ii;! which Prussia challenged 
Austria for the leadership of Germany, England fought 



336 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

France for the domination of North America and India, 
and Russia made good her pretensions to be classed among 
the great European powers. 

Frederic ii. was in his thirty-eighth year when he 
succeeded to the throne. ' He was below the middle 
height, rather handsome, with oval, aquiline face, and 
blue-grey eyes of extraordinary vivacity.' The diplo- 
matists of the day expected little from him ; they merely 
knew that he spent his time corresponding with Voltaire, 
and that he had written a book called the Antimachiavel, 
in which he poured contempt on the lying, corruption, 
and chicanery of the courts of Europe, and laid down 
that a king should be * the born servant of his people.' 
Beyond this they were aware he was reputed to care little 
for soldiering, although, in 1734, he had accompanied the 
Prussian contingent of the Imperial army in the War of 
the Polish Succession, and had been present under Eugene 
at the siege of Philipsburg. 

No sooner had Frederic ascended the throne than people 
began to see that they had formed a wrong estimate of 
him. He at once announced, ' Our great care will be to 
further the country's well-being, and to make every one of 
our subjects happy and contented,' and within a week 
he had established the liberty of the Press, abolished 
torture, and made plans for the development of the 
Academy of Science. He next proceeded to disband the 
regiments of giants, but at the same time he increased the 
army by 16,000 men, bringing it up to the strength of 
100,000. He soon showed that he knew how to use his 
power. The bishop of Li6ge had long claimed the district 
of Herstal, and refused to listen to the demands of Frederic 
William, who was willing to sell it to him. Frederic at 
once despatched 2000 men, quartered them on the bishop's 
territory, and raised the price of Herstal from 100,000 to 
240,000 thalers. 



FREDERIC THE GREAT 337 

The Herstal incident was barely closed when the 
emperor passed away, and a week later Anne, the capable 
Czarina of Russia, died also. At Berlin the usual winter 
gaieties had begun, and Voltaire was there enjoying the 
homage of his royal protege. But Frederic, while appearing 
to care for nothing but pleasure, had already determined 
that this was the opportunity for avenging his father's 
death, and of gaining for Prussia the rich province of 
Silesia. England was engaged in war with Spain, and 
would not be able to spare much aid to Hanover ; the 
death of the Czarina had thrown Russia into confusion ; 
France was always glad to weaken the power of the 
Hapsburgs ; Sweden was at the moment friendly with 
Prussia ; and Austria was weak from the effects of the 
late Turkish war, and owing to the revolt of the Hungarians. 
Lastly, there was the glory to be gained by successful war, 
for as he himself confessed in his Memoirs, ' Ambition, 
interest, and the desire of making people talk about me, 
carried the day : and I decided for war. ' 

On the morning of December 13th, Frederic left a ball 
at the palace, and stepped into his carriage to join his 
army which, under the pretext of manoeuvres, had been 
massed on the frontier of Silesia. He had already de- 
spatched a courier with a letter to Maria Theresa, offering 
to accept a part of Silesia in return for defending her 
title to the rest of the Hapsburg possessions, and of 
helping her husband Francis of Tuscany to gain the 
Imperial crown. In spite of Frederic's lack of military 
experience and strategic mistakes, the Austrians were 
completely surprised, and hurriedly evacuated the whole 
of Silesia, with the exception of one or two fortresses. 
It was not till April 1741, that they were ready to take the 
field against the Prussians. On the tenth of that month 
was fought the battle of Mollwitz, where, after initial 
disaster, the Prussian infantry retrieved the day, owing to 

Y 



338 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

their own stubbornness, not to any generalship on the part 
of their leaders. Indeed, after the preliminary rout of 
his cavalry, Frederic, listening to the advice of his field- 
marshal Schwerin, had ridden off for safety. The strain 
of three sleepless nights and the responsibility of command 
were too great for his nerves — a striking commentary on 
the fact that the soldier's trade is one which needs a 
sound apprenticeship. 

The battle of Mollwitz had far-reaching effects. France 
had been ruled for many years by Cardinal Fleury, Louis 
XV. 's old tutor, whose only desire was for peace. But 
the disclosure of the weakness of Austria brought to the 
front the war-party headed by the Count de Belleisle, 
grandson of Richelieu's Fouquet. At the time of the 
battle of MoUwitz this brilliant and unscrupulous nobleman 
was in Germany, entrusted with the business of securing the 
Imperial throne for the Elector of Bavaria, the French 
candidate. Frederic's victory gave Belleisle his oppor- 
tunity. He had long been intriguing to form a league to 
include France, Prussia, Spain, Bavaria, Sweden and 
Saxony, with the object of dismembering Austria and 
dividing Germany into several equal kingdoms incapable 
of withstanding France, whereon France was to absorb 
the Netherlands and become the arbiter of Europe. For 
the moment it seemed as if he was to be entirely successful, 
for Bavaria, Sweden, Saxony and Prussia entered into a 
compact with France. 

But Frederic's only aim in joining the coalition was to 
secure for himself Silesia : otherwise he had no desire to 
see the Hapsburgs humiliated. Accordingly, on October 
9th, he made a secret treaty with Austria at Klein- 
Schnellendorf, whereby, in return for the cession of the 
fortresses of Glatz and Neisse, and the definite promise 
of Silesia, he engaged to withdraw from the war. Maria 
Theresa hated making terms with her enemy, but, in spite 



FREDERIC THE GREAT 339 

of the magnificent efforts of the Hungarians, she was 
hard pressed. The Bavarians and French had seized Linz 
and were threatening Vienna. The withdrawal of the 
Prussian troops resulted in such immediate success for the 
Austrians that Frederic was afraid that, having once secured 
her dominions, Maria Theresa might refuse to allow him to 
retain Silesia. Accordingly, on November ist, the day on 
which he got possession of Neisse, in the most shameless 
way, on the pretext that the Austrians had made public 
the secret treaty, he made a fresh agreement with Saxony 
and Bavaria for the dismemberment of Austria, and once 
again entered on the war. Six months later, after beating 
the Austrians at Chotusitz, on Maria Theresa once again 
promising to guarantee him Silesia, he for the second time 
deserted his allies, and, on July 28th, made a definite treaty 
of peace with Maria Theresa. All that can be said about 
Frederic's conduct is that he was a pure opportunist : 
he was absolutely convinced of the necessity of extending 
his dominions by the incorporation of the rich province of 
Silesia, and as long as he could do so he did not care what 
methods he employed. 

From Berhn, where he was busily engaged in taking 
measures to incorporate his newly- won province, to 
strengthen his fortresses and to reorganise his army, 
especially the cavalry, which after the artillery was the 
weakest arm in his service, Frederic kept a careful eye on 
European politics. He was ready to enter the field at 
once if he saw it was likely to be to his advantage, for 
as Voltaire said of him, ' Princes nowadays ruin them- 
selves by war, Frederic enriched himself by it.' By the 
beginning of 1744, Maria Theresa's arms were everywhere 
successful : Bavaria was overrun, and the Austrian troops 
were preparing to cross the Rhine to attack their old 
enemy the French ; in addition to this, by the treaty of 
Worms (September 1743) Austria had gained powerful 



340 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

allies in Sardinia and England. Frederic thought it was 
time to stop her victorious career ; he was afraid that she 
might absorb Bavaria, and after making peace with 
France turn her arms against himself. Accordingly, in 
May 1744, he induced the Emperor Charles vii., as repre- 
senting Bavaria, the Elector Palatine, and the Landgrave 
of Hesse Cassel, to form the Union of Frankfort with the 
object of maintaining the integrity of the empire and 
forcing Austria to make peace. 

Two months later he suddenly declared war and 
attempted, by invading southern Bohemia, to cut the 
communications of the Austrian armies on the Rhine. 
His strategy was bad, and it was thanks entirely to his 
tactics on the battlefield, whereby he won, in 1745, the 
battles of Hohenfriedberg, Sohr and Hennersdorf, that he 
saved Silesia. On the death of the Emperor Charles vii. 
(January 1745) Maria Theresa made peace with Bavaria, 
and a few months later entered into the Treaty of Warsaw 
with Saxony for the partition of Prussia. But Frederic's 
victories, and the defeat of the Saxons by the Prince of 
Dessau at Kesselsdorf (December 1745), proved to her that 
the task was impossible ; and a treaty was signed at 
Dresden whereby Austria once again ceded Silesia, while 
Frederic recognised Francis of Lorraine, Maria Theresa's 
husband, as emperor. But this did not bring universal 
peace to Europe, for Austria was still strugghng for the 
predominance in Italy, and by now, from being seconds 
France and England had become principals, and were 
busily engaged in military promenades in the Netherlands 
and in guerilla warfare in America. 

The first six years of his reign had done much to alter 
Frederic's character. The French ambassador thought 
he was more mild, humane and modest. But Frederic 
had not changed his aims. * I will maintain my power, 
or it may go to ruin, and the Prussian name be buried 



FREDERIC THE GREAT 341 

under it.' This was the keynote of his poHcy. But 
provided his dominions were not threatened he preferred 
peace to war. Accordingly, after signing the Treaty of 
Dresden he looked forward to a time of peace, during 
which he might discuss philosophy with his friends at his 
new cottage of Sans Souci, and play the benevolent despot 
by reorganising the judicial procedure throughout his 
dominions, and increasing the economic prosperity of his 
country at large. His first step was to entrust Cocceji 
with the duty of so arranging legal affairs that every 
lawsuit might be begun and finished within a year, by 
getting rid of attorneys, and weeding out unsuitable judges 
and advocates. His idea of law was not to fulfil forms but 
to get right done. Of what was right he considered him- 
self the best judge. A certain dancer, Barbarina, was 
engaged to come from Venice to Berlin. The lady failed 
to put in an appearance, and, in spite of Frederic's letters, 
the Doge refused to take steps to compel her to fulfil 
her contract. Accordingly, Frederic arrested a Venetian 
ambassador who was passing through Berlin, and kept him 
in confinement till the Venetian authorities sent off 
Barbarina. Again, England had agreed that only certain 
articles were to be considered contraband of war ; in spite 
of this she seized Prussian ships carrying no contraband 
articles. The dispute dragged on for some years. At 
last Frederic gained his point by notifying the English 
government that he would not pay the English holders 
of Silesian bonds, until compensation had been granted 
for the captured ships and cargoes. 

In July 1750, an event occurred which Frederic had 
long and eagerly desired, for in that month Voltaire arrived 
in Berlin, tempted by a promise of £8^0 a year, the Cross 
of Merit, and the post of chamberlain. But a few months 
proved that the brilliant, witty, egotistical philosopher 
was out of place at a court where mediocrity alone could 



342 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

flourish under Frederic's despotic control, Voltaire could 
not resist the temptation of making fun of the would-be 
philosophers and sciolists whom the king had gathered 
round him. Frederic was quite ready to laugh at 
Maupertuis and others in private, but he would not have 
his pet academy exposed to the ridicule of the world at 
large. But Voltaire could not endure that his work should 
be kept private, and in spite of prohibition published 
Doctor Akakia, a withering skit which made the academy 
of Berlin the laughing stock of Europe. Frederic at once 
banished him from Potsdam ; and, not content, stooping to 
petty spite, had him arrested and kept in discomfort at 
Frankfort under the pretext that he had taken away a 
book of his poems and the cross of the chamberlain. 

Scarcely had Voltaire left when Frederic found himself 
faced by a serious problem. Austria desired to regain 
Silesia ; Saxony, whose elector was also King of Poland, and 
Russia were both afraid that Frederic might attempt to 
gain territory at their expense. Moreover, the Czarina 
Elizabeth was furious with him for calling her ' Vinfame catin 
du nord.' In 1753, his spies had discovered that a league 
was being formed by these three powers to dismember 
his kingdom. Meanwhile, it was becoming obvious that 
a great war was about to break out between England 
and France for the dominion of America and of India. 
Frederic was well aware that his enemies would seize this 
occasion to attack him. He accordingly had to choose 
between alliance with France or England. But he had 
already alienated the dictator of French policy, Madame 
de Pompadour ; for, unlike Maria Theresa, who from 
motives of policy addressed her as * ma cousine,' he had 
spoken of her in slighting terms, adding ' Je ne la connais 
pas.' But, on the other hand, England had practically no 
army ; in 1755, there were only three battalions available 
for service abroad, and Newcastle refused to raise others. 



FREDERIC THE GREAT 343 

since the patronage would fall into the hands of his enemy 
the Duke of Cumberland. Still England had bargained 
with Russia for 55,000 men to defend Hanover. Accordingly, 
in 1756, Frederic determined to ally himself with England, 
hoping that she would have influence enough with her 
ally Russia to prevent her from attacking him. Un- 
fortunately, the Czarina preferred revenge on her personal 
foe to English subsidies, while the result of the Convention 
of Westminster between Frederic and England was to 
drive Austria into the arms of France. 

During the early summer of 1756, every power in Europe 
was hastily completing its armaments. The French were 
ready first, and in June seized Minorca, which was one of 
the English naval bases in the Mediterranean. Frederic, 
seeing that war was now inevitable and having completed 
his mobilisation, determined to seize the initiative. On 
Austria refusing to reply as to whether her armaments 
were designed against Prussia, he launched his forces on 
Saxony, and thus commenced the Seven Years' War. 
The result of the first campaign was that the Saxon army 
was forced to capitulate at Pirna and was embodied in 
the Prussian army. The whole of Saxony was occupied 
by Prussia, and her revenues and resources were used to 
support the Prussian army. But in spite of the fact that 
Frederic seized at Dresden copies of the secret treaty 
between Saxony, Austria and Russia for the partition of 
Prussia, his action was regarded as a distinct attempt to dis- 
integrate the empire. Austria, Russia, France, Sweden, and 
the emperor resolved to take up arms and not lay them down 
till Prussia was dismembered. On his side Frederic had 
but one ally, England, who pledged herself to maintain 
' a British army of observation ' in Hanover 50,000 strong. 
He himself could put into the field some 150,000 men, 
and garrisons to the extent of 40,000, but the whole popula- 
tion of his dominions was a bare five million, and his 



344 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

revenue less than two million sterling. He had also a 
war hoard of perhaps three and a half million. Thus his 
total force including his allies was about 240,000, as against 
the 430,000 men of the field armies which his enemies were 
gathering together, backed by the resources of practically 
the whole of the continent. 

Under these circumstances the essence of Frederic's 
strategy was to prevent the junction of his enemies. The 
Swedes were never really dangerous ; they invariably issued 
too late in the year from Pomerania to effect anything. 
Accordingly, Frederic started the campaign of 1757, by a 
concentric invasion of Bohemia, with the object of seizing 
the great arsenal of Prague, and if possible of sweeping up 
the other magazines in Bohemia before the Austrian 
mobilisation was complete. The task was too great for 
him, and although he won a battle outside Prague, he 
failed to capture that city before the arrival of the relieving 
army under Marshal Daun. Then instead of raising the 
siege and concentrating his strength against the relieving 
force, he merely reinforced his covering army and conse- 
quently suffered a crushing defeat at Kolin on June i8th, 
with the result that he had to raise the siege of Prague and 
faU back into Silesia. Fortunately the Russians, although 
they defeated a Prussian force at Gross Jagersdorf, never 
emerged from Poland. The French, after defeating the 
Hanoverian army under Cumberland, were able by the 
autumn to stretch forward a hand to help the Austrians 
in the direction of the Saale. Frederic left his brother to 
watch the Austrians, and after weeks of hard marching 
and manoeuvring tempted the French to attack him at 
Rossbach, where by his masterly tactics he completely 
defeated them. Thereafter hurrying back to Silesia, where 
Daun had made good headway and even captured Breslau, 
he surprised 50,000 Austrians at Leuthen, and with 
30,000 men all but annihilated them. 



FREDERIC THE GREAT 345 

Rossbach had far-reaching effects. In England Frederic 
was greeted as the Protestant champion. Pitt, who had 
now come into power, made a new treaty with the king, 
guaranteed him an annual subsidy of £670,000 and a 
British-Hanoverian army of 50,000, to be commanded by 
Ferdinand of Brunswick, one of Frederic's generals. With 
his right flank thus secured for the remainder of the war, 
Frederic was mainly engaged in keeping the Austrians 
and Russians apart. The campaign of 1758 was on the 
whole unfortunate, Frederic's attempt to surprise the 
enemy failing before the fortress of Olmiitz in Moravia. 
Still, he was successful in his main object of preventing the 
junction of the Austrians and Russians, and in August he 
defeated the latter at Zorndorf. In October, however, 
he suffered a severe defeat at the hands of Daun at 
Hochkirch, from despising his enemy and not taking 
proper precautions against surprise. The next year, 1759, 
he was so weak that he could no longer assume the 
offensive on a large scale, and 18,000 Austrian cavalry 
were able to join hands with the Russians. It was this 
Austrian reinforcement under Loudon which caused his 
defeat at Kunersdorf (August 13th, 1759) by the Russians. 
Fortunately, there was no feeling of confidence between 
the Austrian and Russian commanders ; instead of hasten- 
ing to form a junction they manoeuvred apart in a leisurely 
way, and Frederic was able once again to interpose between 
them. The campaign of 1760 was one of the most famous 
in history, for, in August, Frederic, surrounded by three 
Austrian armies and one Russian, out-marched and out- 
manoeuvred them all and ultimately defeated Loudon, 
the best of the Austrian generals, at Liegnitz (August 1760) . 
During the campaigning season of 176 1 Frederic lay in 
Silesia opposed by his old enemy Loudon, who more than 
once got the better of him. If the Russians had only 
co-operated nothing could have saved the king, but 



346 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

luckily it was well known that the Czarina Elizabeth 
could not live long, and that Peter her heir was an enthusi- 
astic admirer of the Prussian king : so the Russian com- 
manders were afraid to press their advantage. In spite of 
this, Frederic's cause seemed desperate, for George iii. 
had displaced Pitt and put Bute at the head of the govern- 
ment, and Bute's one idea was to make peace. Fortunately, 
however, the Czarina died, in January 1762, and Russia 
made peace with Prussia in May, an example which 
Sweden soon followed. During the summer the now 
allied Russian and Prussian armies opposed the Austrians 
in Silesia, and although Peter iii. was deposed by 
Catherine II., on July 8th, and the Russian troops were 
recalled, still Frederic persuaded them to remain long 
enough for him to defeat the Austrians at Bukersdorf. 
Austria now saw that there was nothing for it but to bow 
to the inevitable, and, in February 1763, the war came to 
an end by the treaty of Hubertsburg, whereby in return for 
the Austrians evacuating Glatz, Frederic restored Saxony to 
its elector, and by a secret clause promised to help Joseph, 
Maria Theresa's son, to become King of the Romans. 

The hard work, exposure, and strain of this terrible 
war left their permanent mark on Frederic. As early as 
1760 he wrote to a friend, ' All this has made me so old 
that you would hardly know me again. On the right side 
of my head the hair is all grey : my teeth break and fall 
out : my face is wrinkled like a petticoat : my back bent 
like the bow of a saddle : my spirit cast down like a monk 
of La Trappe.' All through the war he had carried poison 
with him to end his life rather than fall into the hands 
of his enemies; and on several occasions, notably after 
his crushing defeat at Kunersdorf , he had been tempted to 
end his misfortunes. At other times he had felt that, 
perhaps if he resigned his throne in favour of his brother 
Henry, his enemies might spare his country. But always 



FREDERIC THE GREAT 347 

in the end he conquered these weaknesses. True it is 
that the Prussian disciphne was terrible, enforced by 
stick and bullet ; but his men loved * unser Fritz/ as they 
called the king, and year after year he inspired devotion 
and courage into veteran and recruit alike, for, as Jomini 
says, commenting on the performance of the Prussians, 
' the goodness of troops depends upon the genius which 
knows how to create motives of enthusiasm.' 

Immediately after the conclusion of the peace of Huberts- 
burg Frederic returned to Berlin, and commenced taking 
measures to restore the ravages of the war. Thanks to 
his marvellous administration, he still had nominally some 
fourteen and a half million thalers in the treasury, although 
this was composed of debased money. Meanwhile, reports 
were received showing that whole districts were ravaged, 
towns ruined and burnt, and the fields nearly everywhere 
unsown ; seventy thousand horses were necessary for farm 
purposes ; and the population had fallen to about four 
millions. Frederic at once began to make advances to 
the farmers; money, seed, corn and horses were granted 
free of payment. The artillery horses were sent to the 
plough, land banks were established in Silesia under 
state guarantee for mortgages at a very low rate of interest, 
and steps were taken to restore the value of the currency. 
Frederic came to the conclusion that the best way to put 
down smuggling and increase his revenue was to employ 
French revenue officers. In 1766, he appointed de Launay 
chief superintendent of finances. Severe though the 
Prussian taxes were, Frederic was always ready to come 
to the aid of his people when any real distress arose. 
During the famine of 1770-1774, by wise administration the 
price of bread in Prussia never rose to the abnormal height 
it did elsewhere. In fact, more than 40,000 Saxons and 
Bohemians emigrated into Prussia during those years. 
Frederic's system was successful, because he followed the 



348 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

rule which he had himself laid down in his testament of 1768 : 
' With regard to the price of corn, it is incumbent on the 
ruler to lay down a hard and fast line, striking the mean 
between the interests of the noble, the farmer of corn 
lands, and the peasant on the one side, and the interest of 
the soldier and the working man on the other.' Hence 
it was that under de Launay's administration the taxes on 
pork and rye bread were abolished, and the king refused to 
put a tax on butcher's meat, for he said, * I am by my 
office advocate of the poor and the soldier, and I have to 
plead their cause.' 

While thus deeply absorbed in obliterating the traces of 

the late war, the king kept a careful eye on European 

politics. From England he knew he could look for little 

help in the future. Yet it was necessary that he should 

have an ally against the machinations of his life-long foe 

Austria. He accordingly set himself to bring about a 

rapprochement between his country and Russia. Frederic 

was shrewd enough to see that, under the capable hands of 

Catherine ii., Russia was on the eve of vast expansion. 

By pushing back the Turks from the Sea of Azof and the 

Black Sea, and thus creeping down towards the m.ouths of 

the Danube, she was delivering a stunning blow at Turkey, 

and would arouse the jealousy of Austria. In the north 

on the Baltic, as she pushed westwards into Finland, she 

naturally found herself opposed by her old enemy Sweden. 

Between Russia, Austria and Prussia lay the ancient 

kingdom of Poland, fallen from its high estate. For two 

hundred years, since the extinction of the Jagellon line, 

the crown of Poland had been elective. Poland had 

become the storm-centre of European intrigue : all the 

great powers had their agents in the country ready to try 

and buy the crown for their own nominee. During the 

eighteenth century two electors of Saxony had been kings 

of Poland ; but the second Saxon king had only gained 



FREDERIC THE GREAT 349 

his crown, in 1734, thanks to the exertions of Austria who 
had espoused his cause against Stanislaus Leszczynski, the 
father of Louis xv.'s bride, in the War of the Pohsh 
Succession. In 1763, Frederic Augustus 11. of Poland 
died : Austria desired that his son should be elected as 
his successor. But while it was the policy of Austria that 
Poland should be strong, a weak Poland was the desire of 
both Russia and Prussia, who aimed at the absorption of 
that country. Accordingly, in 1764, Catherine was glad 
to accept Frederic's overtures and to form an alliance 
with Prussia, by means of which her nominee Stanislaus 
Poniatowski, a Polish prince absolutely dependent upon 
Russia, became king. A religious civil war between the 
Roman Catholics and the orthodox churchmen, which 
followed Poniatowski's election, gave the Czarina an 
opportunity for further interference in Polish politics. 

Such was the state of affairs in Poland when, in 1768, war 
broke out between Russia and Turkey. By their treaties 
of alliance Prussia was bound to help Russia and France 
and Austria to help Turkey : but Frederic had no desire 
to reopen a European war. ' We are Germans,' he said, 
* what does it matter to us if the Enghsh and French light 
for Canada and the American islands, or if Paoli gives the 
French plenty to do in Corsica, or if Turks and Russians 
seize one another by the hair ? ' Austria and France were 
equally desirous of avoiding war, and were delighted to 
lind ' The Ogre of Potsdam ' in so amiable a mood. Two 
meetings took place between Frederic and Joseph, Maria 
Theresa's son : the second at Neustadt, in September 
1770, was also attended by Kaunitz, the great Austrian 
minister who had arranged the alliance with France which 
preceded the Seven Years' War. He told Frederic that, if 
the Muscovite troops crossed the Danube, Austria would 
make war : further, that she would allow no dismember- 
ment of Turkey. 



350 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

The problem Frederic had to solve was how to bring the 
war to an end, and at the same time to find some 
* satisfaction ' for Russia. The key to the puzzle came 
from Catherine, who suggested a partition of Poland. 
Austria had already seized a small strip of territory called 
the Zips, on the pretence it was hers : so the conspirators 
were able to meet her outcries by replying that she had 
begun the game of grab. Maria Theresa was scandalised, 
but Joseph and Kaunitz overruled her, while Frederic 
jeered at her with the words, ' Elle pleurait tou jours mais 
elle prenait toujours.' By the first partition of Poland, 
in 1771, Austria gained the Zips and all Red Russia ; 
Russia annexed the Polish territory between the Dwina, 
the Dnieper and the Dniester; while Prussia got Polish 
Prussia, that is, the palatinates of Pomerelia, Culm and 
Marienburg, with the exception of Dantzig and Thorn : 
thus East Prussia was definitely linked up with the rest 
of the kingdom, and Frederic was able to expand his army 
from 160,000 to 186,000 men. Morally, there is no plea 
that can be offered for Frederic's conduct ; like nearly all 
his political actions, all that can be said is that he con- 
sidered it would be good for his country, and therefore 
he did it. But, while for the moment this increase in 
population and wealth benefited Prussia, ultimately it 
reacted to her disadvantage ; for the partition of Poland was 
the precedent following which, thirty years later, Napoleon 
first broke up the Holy Roman Empire and then dis- 
membered both Austria and Prussia. 

Frederic found plenty to do in reorganising his new 
territory. He had acquired some 9000 square miles with 
a population of half a million souls. It was a desolate 
war-scarred land. Of forty houses in the town of Culm, 
twenty-eight had no doors, windows, roofs, or ovens ; and 
Culm was typical of nearly every other town. Bread was 
unknown ; few villages had an oven. Frederic threw him- 



FREDERIC THE GREAT 351 

self into the work. The towns were rebuilt ; immigration 
encouraged ; manufactories established ; communication 
opened up (notably a canal joining the Vistula and the 
Oder) ; and sturdy German farmers granted farms and the 
means to stock them. While thus engaged the king was 
disgusted, in 1777, to find himself once again on the brink 
of war. The Bavarian branch of the Wittelsbachs died 
out in that year, and Joseph 11. of Austria persuaded Charles 
Theodore, the elector Palatine, the representative of the 
elder branch, to sign an agreement whereby Bavaria was 
to fall to the Hapsburgs. But Charles Augustus, Duke 
of Zweibriicken, heir to the Palatinate, refused to ratify 
this compact. Frederic, remembering Joseph's ambition, 
and how on the report of his own death, in 1775, he had 
prepared to march into Brandenburg, espoused the cause 
of the Duke of Zweibriicken. The summer of 1778 saw 
the king once again at the head of his armies invading 
Bohemia. But he had no real desire for war: he only 
wished to compel Joseph to evacuate Bavaria. France, 
who was anxious to interfere in the American War of 
Independence against her old enemy England, and 
Russia, who desired to extend her territories at the expense 
of Poland and Turkey, intervened to prevent a European 
war ; so Joseph gave in, and the so-called Potato War came 
to an end. 

In November 1781, Maria Theresa breathed her last, and 
Joseph, now unfettered, gave rein to his designs for the 
reform and aggrandisement of his house. Unfortunately, 
as Frederic said of him, he always took the second step 
before the first ; and, sound as many of his ideas were, he 
invariably raised against all his actions the strongest 
opposition. Still, it became clear that his ultimate aim 
was the restoration of the Hapsburg supremacy in Germany. 
In January 1785, Charles of Zweibriicken was able to 
inform Frederic that Joseph had proposed to him to 



352 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

accept the Netherlands in exchange for Bavaria. As soon 
as the news became pubUc all Germany was alarmed, and 
Frederic immediately sketched out a Confederation of 
Princes (Fiirstenbund) . Saxony, Brunswick-Liineburg, 
Saxe- Weimar, Gotha, Zweibriicken, Anhalt, Mecklenburg, 
Baden, and others joined the league, whose object was to 
maintain the constitution of Germany as settled by the 
Peace of Westphalia. Whether, if Frederic had lived, the 
result of this league would have been to have transferred 
the Imperial sceptre from the house of Hapsburg to the 
Hohenzollerns, it is impossible to say, for the old king 
breathed his last on August 17th, 1786. 

It has often been said of Prussia that her history is the 
history of her kings, and of none of them is it truer than 
of Frederic the Great. He was by education, environment, 
and instinct a worker and a ruler. From the moment he 
became king to the day of his death, his first thought was 
his duty to his state. At four every morning he was 
roused, the soldier who called him being instructed to 
place a cold wet towel on his face if he did not wake up 
at once. Thereafter he dressed hurriedly, putting on his 
military top boots, never allowing himself the comfort of 
slippers. Only once a year did he discard his boots, when 
in full court dress he went to congratulate his wife on her 
birthday. From a quarter past four till eight o'clock he 
waded through his correspondence : to check his subor- 
dinates, all postmasters had orders to send daily a Hst 
of any letters addressed to him which passed through their 
hands. About eight he breakfasted, dictating meanwhile 
any answers he particularly desired ; from nine till ten he 
did military business with his aide-de-camp ; from ten 
to twelve he devoted himself to literary work, science, and 
his private correspondence. At twelve he dined ; by 
nature a gourmand, he had a set of cooks of different 
nationalities to prepare their national dishes ; he pre- 



FREDERIC THE GREAT 353 

ferred highly seasoned dishes with much pepper and spice, 
followed by good fruit. After dinner he walked about 
talking to his guests till four o'clock, when he returned to 
his secretaries, took a handful of letters from every pile, 
and rapidly scanned them to see if his orders had been 
obeyed. Thereafter till six he busied himself with the 
education of his subjects, going over the reports of the 
academy, schools, etc. From six to ten he usually had a 
concert, himself performing on the flute. At ten he had 
supper ; this meal he gave up during the Seven Years' War, 
as his digestion had become bad. By eleven he was in 
bed. This was his daily routine, and nothing, not even 
ill-health and old age, was allowed to interfere with it. 
Indeed, during his last few months he worked even harder 
than ever, and what with dropsy, asthma and erysipelas 
he could hardly ever sleep, so that his secretaries were 
kept going night and day. As he said to a friend, ' If you 
happened to want a night watcher I would suit you well.' 
The day before his death he dictated a despatch of four 
quarto pages, which, said Hertzberg, his minister, ' would 
have done honour to the most experienced minister.' 

Frederic left Prussia one of the most commanding states 
in Europe. Her army was 200,000 strong ; she had a 
comparatively large reserve and a big war chest : all this 
she owed to the king. But, unfortunately, there was 
nobody to succeed Frederic when he died. His nephew, 
Frederic William, was gentle and kind-hearted, but had 
none of his great uncle's capacity. There was no great 
minister trained in his methods to lift the burden from his 
shoulders, for the result of Frederic's regime was to produce 
copying clerks, not broad-minded statesmen. The king 
alone had ruled : all initiative had been stifled. Yet 
Frederic himself had complained of the lack of initiative, 
for in his testament of 1768 he wrote, * Mankind move 
if you urge them on, and stop so soon as you leave off 

z 



354 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

driving them. Nobody approves of habits and customs 
but those of his father. Men need httle, and have no 
desire to learn how anything can be managed differently : 
and, as for me, who never did them anything but good, 
they think I want to put a knife to their throats, so soon 
as there is any question of introducing a useful improve- 
ment, or indeed any change at all. In such cases I have 
relied on my honest purposes and my good conscience, 
and also on information in my possession, and have calmly 
pursued my way.' 

But not only was the head and the brain of the body 
politic weak and unable to control the nerve centres, the 
feet were unfortunately made of clay. For the peasantry 
were still in the uttermost degradation, mere serfs bound 
to the soil, who owed their master four days' work out of 
six, and, if they earned fifty- five thalers in cash per annum, 
were only allowed to keep twenty thalers for their own 
domestic purposes. Hence the only healthy members of 
the body pohtic were the nobles, who, as owners of landed 
property and as composing the officer corps of the army, 
were treated with particular consideration. In addition, 
the new class of manufacturers and traders had been most 
carefully encouraged by Frederic ii. and his father. But 
even these two classes were absolutely dependent on the 
king, for the manufacturers were not yet strong enough to 
subsist without protection ; the silk trade and the iron 
trade were but newly established, while the nobles and 
the landed gentry would have been absolutely ruined if 
the state had withdrawn its support from the land banks. 
In a word Prussia more than ever depended on her army, 
and here unfortunately Frederic's system had produced 
the same result as in politics : he had trained sergeant- 
majors, not generals; he had been able to drive himself, 
but had failed to impart to others the secret of his driving 
power. 



FREDERIC THE GREAT 355 

There are those who can see no practical LiberaHsm in 
Frederic; and who content themselves with quoting Lessing : 
* Pray do not tell me about your Berlin liberty of thought 
and writing : it merely consists in the liberty of circulating 
as many witticisms as you please against religion.' They 
surely forget Frederic's reply to those who attempted to 
prevent the children of Catholic soldiers from being 
brought up in their fathers' faith : ' All religions must be 
tolerated, and the fiscal must watch that none of them do 
injury to the other : for here every one shall be saved in 
his own way.' Such toleration was unknown in that day 
in all Europe, save, perhaps, in England. Typical also 
of his point of view is the following anecdote. A parson 
had been severely reprimanded because he had preached 
a sermon in which he said that since God was ever merciful, 
the pains of hell could not last for ever. The case was 
submitted to Frederic, who wrote : * Let parsons who make 
for themselves a cruel and barbarous God be eternally 
damned as they desire and deserve : and let parsons who 
conceive God as good and merciful enjoy the plenitude of 
His mercy.' 

Holding such opinions we ought not to be surprised at 
finding that Frederic preferred equity to law, and at times 
overrode the decisions of his own judges. The famous 
case is that of the miller Arnold, who rented a small mill 
which depended for its power on a stream. A landed 
proprietor higher up the stream diverted the water to form 
a fish pond. On Arnold being unable to pay his rent he 
was evicted, but appealed to the king against the decision 
of the court. The judges refused to reverse their decision, 
so the king had them put in prison and the case retried by 
a court-martial. The struggle between the king and the 
judges ultimately ended in Frederic himself deposing von 
Zedhtz, the minister of justice. But later, recognising 
ZedUtz' steadfastness to principle, he rewarded instead of 



356 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

punishing him. This anecdote is a good illustration of how 
it was that the king, while honestly attempting to benefit 
his subjects, failed to establish a living government. 

As a king Frederic's character was perhaps too auto- 
cratic, and his personality too strong for the age in which 
he lived : while his ideas were right he was too impatient 
of advice, and too mistrustful of precedent to build up a 
system founded on principle. But as a commander in 
the field he stands high indeed. Absolutely confident of 
himself, he inspired confidence in others. Though as a 
strategist his plans were often faulty, he had the quickness 
of insight and the steadfastness of purpose necessary to 
repair his errors. During his first few campaigns he wisely 
listened to the advice of his generals, the old warrior 
Leopold of Dessau and others. But as he gained experi- 
ence he more and more trusted his own wisdom, and from 
the time of the second Silesian War we find in his operations 
that unity of command which is so important a factor 
in success. Everything had to be subordinated to the 
main issue, and all commanders were taught that co- 
operation was their prime duty. Even Leopold of Dessau 
had to learn this lesson ; for when, in 1745, after the battle 
of Hohenfriedberg, he argued against the king's plans, 
he was met with the sharp censure, ' When your highness 
has armies of your own you will order them according to 
your mind : at present it must be according to mine.' 
On the field of battle Frederic was at his best : he had the 
clear insight which taught him to recognise the weakness 
of his foe, and, whether outnumbered or not, he never 
hesitated to seize the initiative and hurl himself boldly at 
the weak spot. Prussian drill and discipline had given his 
infantry the great advantage of mobility on the field of 
battle, and he supplemented this advantage by learning 
from his enemies the use of cavalry and artillery. In 
strategy he once again taught the world the lessons of 



FREDERIC THE GREAT 357 

mobilit^^ A study of Frederic's marches during any of 
the first few years of the Seven Years' War will amply 
repay the student of military history. Except perhaps 
for Napoleon's campaign of 1814, there is no better lesson 
in the art of defensive war than in Frederic's campaigns : 
nothing more clearh' exemphfies the dictum that the art 
of defence is a vigorous local attack. In war as in peace 
Frederic's passionate self-will often, as at Hochkirch, 
marred his plans ; yet eten these mishaps showed his 
greatness, so quick was he to retrieve his errors. But, 
above all, his courage and personality turned the sweepings 
of the European capitals and the ignorant ill-used serfs 
of Prussia into enthusiastic, fearless and devoted soldiers. 

Whatever then were his failings, Frederic was one of 
those great men who, on behalf of their country, have 
scorned delights and lived laborious days. ' Learn,' he 
wrote to a friend, ' from a man who does not go to Eisner's 
preaching, that one must oppose to ill-fortune a heart of 
iron : and during this life renounce all happiness, all 
acquisition, possessions and lying shows, none of which 
will follow him beyond the grave.' 



NAPOLEON 

While Frederic the Great, Catherine ii. and Joseph ii., 
fully convinced that they were entrusted with the high 
mission of governing for the welfare of their subjects, were 
fostering manufactures, enforcing religious toleration, 
gradually abohshing the privileges of the nobles, protect- 
ing and elevating the serfs, attacking every conceivable 
form of abuse, in France no such beneficent influences 
were at work. The French peasant, no longer a serf, was 
cruelly taxed, and had to pay vexatious dues to the noble 
absentee landlord, who, owing to the success of Richelieu's 
scheme, had lost all local authority, and become a mere 
hanger-on at the Royal Court. Since the death of Louis xiv. 
the crown had greatly lost its prestige. The unfortunate 
characters of the Regent Orleans, of Louis xv., and of 
Louis XVI. had no doubt contributed to this state of 
affairs, but the real reason was the ill success of the Seven 
Years' War. The disillusionment caused by the defeat 
of Rossbach, followed by the loss of nearly all their over- 
seas possessions, was a bitter blow to the French, whose 
pride could stand any amount of mismanagement at home 
as long as their rulers gave them la gloire. France emerged 
from the war morally and materially bankrupt. There 
was only one medium to restore her to health, and that 
was the overthrow of the privileged classes, whereby taxa- 
tion might fall on those who could bear it. But when 
Turgot attempted (1774-1776) to break down the barriers 
of caste and equalise taxation, the nobles and the lawyers 
rose in arms and hurled him from office. Meanwhile, in 

358 



NAPOLEON 359 

every salon in Paris those very nobles and their ladies were 
discussing the doctrines of Voltaire and Rousseau, and 
prating of equality. They were full of enthusiasm for the 
Americans ; and they forced the king, against the advice 
of his finance minister Necker, to enter into war against 
England on behalf of the revolted states, when every law 
of reason counselled economy and peace. 

The Treaty of Versailles (1783) brought to an end this 
war from which France emerged with fresh glory indeed, 
but with an empty exchequer and a huge debt which she 
could not liquidate. There followed five years of further 
borrowing. Then, in 1788, as, owing to the former folly 
of the nobles and the 'parlement,' money could be raised 
by no other means, all classes at last joined in the demand 
that the states-general, which had not met for some hundred 
and seventy years, should be summoned. But it was too late. 
Although the nobles and lawyers were at last willing to 
resign their privileges, the mischief was almost irreparable, 
and the people were animated by a bitter class-hatred. 
Most unfortunately also for France her king was exceedingly 
well meaning but very weak, while his minister Neckei, 
a clever banker and financier, knew nothing of politics. 
Accordingly, every conceivable mistake that it was possible 
to commit was made, both as to the representation of the 
three estates — the nobles, the clergy, and the people — and 
as to their methods of consultation and voting. Mean- 
while, in Paris salon, and in village public-house, tongues 
w^agged unceasingly. The great ladies were full of the 
theoretical virtue of equality ; the soldiers, who had served 
in the French army in America, knew from experience 
what equality meant ; while the sharp, struggling attorneys, 
as is their wont, by intrigues and by wild promises were 
straining to get themselves elected, holding out all sorts 
of delusive hopes to the discontented in town and in 
country. 



36o LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

At the moment that the states-general met at Versailles, 
on May 5th, 1789, the crown, in spite of Marie Antoinette's 
foolish escapades, was by no means unpopular. But owing 
to a series of stupid mistakes, which included the move- 
ment of troops around Paris and which resulted in the 
famous Oath of the Tennis Court, and culminated in the 
dismissal of Necker, the ambitious malcontents were able 
to work on the fears of the people. Then followed the fall 
of the Bastille (July 14th), the enrolment of the National 
Guards under the vain but incompetent Lafaj^ette, and the 
March of the Women (October 5th and 6th) , which resulted 
in the removal of the Assembly to Paris, where it was 
overawed by the mob. Unfortunatel}' Mirabeau, the 
only man who had sufficient statesmanship and personality 
to control the situation, was forced by the attitude of the 
queen to remain on the side of the demagogues. Mean- 
while, part of the nobility (the emigres) had fled from the 
country, while the majority of those who remained were 
anxious that the king should take some decisive steps to 
put an end to the impossible situation. The National or 
Constituent Assembly, after discussing at great length the 
Rights of Man, proceeded, in 1790, to draw up a new 
constitution, whereby the old system of centralisation was 
overthrown, the old historic provinces of the country were 
destroyed, and France was divided up into eighty depart- 
ments, each of which was a complete little state in which 
the judicature, the legislative and the administrative bodies 
were elected. But at the same time by confiscating Church 
lands, and turning the clergy into paid servants of the 
State, religion was forced into active hostility to the new 
regime. Unfortunately also the harvests of J789 and 1790 
were bad, and starvation led to riots and pillaging, and 
everywhere demagogues were playing on the feelings of 
the people and attempting to debauch the soldiers. 

Such was the situation when, in January 1791, Mirabeau 



( 



NAPOLEON 361 

died. Meanwhile abroad. Austria, Prussia and Russia 
were seizing the opportunity of the weakness of France 
to complete the dismemberment of Poland. But as the 
years went on the powers began to take alarm, at the spread 
of the revolutionary spirit ; and, in August 1791, the Treaty 
of Pillnitz was made whereby Leopold of Austria, brother 
of Marie Antoinette, and Frederic William of Prussia, called 
on the other powers for co-operation on behalf of Louis xvi., 
who, in June, had attempted to escape but had been arrested 
at Varennes. On October ist, the new Legislative Assembly 
met, in which the republican spirit was strongly repre- 
sented ; and the Girondins, who had hitherto been the 
extremists, were barely able to maintain their authority 
against the ultra-extremists, the Jacobins. 

On April 25th, 1792, France declared war against Austria. 
The result of the Austro-Prussian invasion, which was 
checked at Valmy (September 25th), was the September 
massacres and the imprisonment of the king. The ex- 
tremists, elated by their temporary success, published the 
famous decrees of November 19th and December 15th, 
promising to aid all nations to overthrow their govern- 
ments, and compelHng all countries occupied by French 
troops to accept the new French institutions. The yesn 
1793 saw the execution of the king (January 21st), and the 
alHes, England, Austria, Prussia and Spain, engaged in 
the invasion of France ; but each power was working for 
its own aggrandisement, and there was no unity of control. 
Hence France was given time under the driving power of 
the Terror, and the management of the Committee of Public 
Safety, to try various military experiments which ended in 
compulsory service. By June 1794, the flood of invasion 
was checked by Jourdan's victor}^ of Fleurus, and, by 
1795, the reorganised French armies were in their turn 
invading Spain, Holland and Italy. At home the political 
problem was, for the time, solved by the estabhshment of a 



362 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

strong executive of five directors : while excessive legisla- 
tion was checked by the formation of a senate composed 
of representatives above a certain age. But far-seeing 
statesmen had already foretold that this was but a tempo- 
rary expedient, and were awaiting the appearance of a 
dictator. 

Napoleon Bonaparte, as he spelled the name, the second 
surviving son of Charles Buonaparte and Letizia Buona- 
parte [nee Ramolino), was born at Ajaccio on August 15th, 
1769. Both the Buonapartes belonged to good Corsican 
families, which had originally emigrated to that island from 
Tuscany. Charles Buonaparte had been a firm supporter 
of Paoli, the Corsican patriot, who had (in 1764) called in 
French troops to aid the Corsicans against the Genoese. 
But when Paoli subsequently (in 1768) was banished for 
taking up arms against the French, Charles Buonaparte, 
instead of casting in his lot with the extremists, accepted 
the offered pardon, and returned with his wife to Ajaccio, 
to resume his business as an attorney. It was not from 
his father that Napoleon inherited his world-compelling 
qualities, but from his mother Letizia, who on her mother's 
side was descended from the Pietra Santa family, one of 
the wildest and most virile clans in the island. During his 
early years the young Napoleon learned from his mother 
the history of his native island, and became deeply im- 
pregnated with hatred of the French and admiration of 
the gallant Paoli. As he expressed it in later years, * I 
was born when my country was perishing. Thirty thousand 
French vomited upon our coasts, drowning the throne of 
liberty in wars of blood ; such was the sight which first 
struck my eyes.' Though Napoleon never forgave his 
father for deserting Paoli, he and his brothers profited 
greatly by his action ; Napoleon and his elder brother 
Joseph were at an early age admitted to the mihtary school 
of Brienne, where cadets of noble families received a free 



NAPOLEON 363 

education. The official reports tell us that the small 
Corsican boy, some ten years old, was silent and obstinate, 
but add that he was * imperious.' At Brienne he went 
through the ordinary curriculum, learning history, mathe- 
matics, Latin and French grammar ; in his spare time he 
devoured Plutarch's Lives and later Caesar's Commentaries. 
When fifteen years old his report was ' Constitution 
excellent ; character submissive, sweet, honest, grateful ; 
conduct, very regular ; has always distinguished himself 
by application to mathematics ; knows history and geo- 
graphy passably ; very weak in accomplishments ; he will 
be an excellent seaman ; is worthy to enter the school at 
Paris.' 

In October 1781, he left Brienne for Paris with the nick- 
name of the * Spartan ' : outwardly silent and reserved, 
inwardly boiling over to avenge his country. ' Paoli will 
return ; as soon as I have strength I will go and help him,' 
so he once exclaimed ; ' and perhaps together we shall be 
able to shake the odious yoke from off the neck of Corsica.' 
After a year at Paris, at the age of sixteen, Napoleon was 
gazetted to the artillery regiment of La Fere quartered at 
Valence on the Rhone. His father had died in the pre- 
ceding year, and he had taken on himself the whole support 
of the family, although his pay was only 11 20 francs, or 
about £45 a year. A year later he was granted furlough 
and visited his relatives in Corsica, where he found his 
family affairs in such a state that it took him twenty-one 
months to disentangle them. Meanwhile, during his early 
years he had become a devoted admirer of Rousseau's 
philosophy, for in the doctrine of the Rights of Man and in 
the Social Contract he saw arguments for the deliverance 
of his beloved Corsica. After rejoining his regiment at 
Auxerre he threw himself into the study of history, especi- 
aUy of EngHsh history, up to the Revolution of 1689. 

Bonaparte was in Corsica in the autumn of 1789, on 



364 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

furlough, taking a keen interest in the events happening at 
Versailles and Paris, protesting against the tyranny of the 
French garrison, and appealing to the National Assembly 
on behalf of Corsica. In July 1790, to the delight of all 
patriots, Paoli returned to the island, now one of the 
departments of France, as head of the Corsican National 
Guards. Bonaparte was greatly disappointed when he 
met his hero, who, mellowed by time, was willing to become 
a French official. After returning to his regiment at 
Auxerre, the autumn of 1791 found him once again on leave 
in Corsica. Soon a breach divided Paoli and his former 
admirer, for the old patriot distrusted the Revolution ; 
while Napoleon, by now a Jacobin and lieutenant-colonel 
of the Corsican National Guards, attempted to seduce from 
its obedience the line regiment which was in garrison at 
Ajaccio. Doubtless such conduct ought to have been 
severely punished, but when Bonaparte returned from 
furlough, in April 1793, France was in a ferment, and war 
had just been declared against Austria. A little later, on 
leave in Paris, on June 23rd, he witnessed the humiliation 
of the king at the Tuileries ; and in spite of his theories 
his sound common sense revolted against the scene, and he 
exclaimed, ' Why don't they sweep off four or five hundred 
of that canaille with cannon ? The rest would then run 
away fast enough.' He also witnessed the massacre of the 
Swiss Guards, on August loth, and wrote to his elder brother 
Joseph, ' If Louis xvi. had mounted his horse the victory 
would have been his.' 

While France was hurrying the relics of her regular army 
and a nondescript force of volunteers to protect her eastern 
frontier, Bonaparte returned to Corsica. Military discipline 
was lax, and the authorities no doubt thought that such a 
staunch Repubhcan would be more useful at home. But 
six months later he had to flee the island, for the greater 
part of his countrymen sided with Paoli, and preferred the 



NAPOLEON 365 

protection of England to becoming a part ot Republican 
France. Paoli stood for ' freedom as a due balance of class 
interests.' Bonaparte held that ' mankind was to be saved 
by law, society being levelled down and levelled up until 
the ideals of Lycurgus were attained.' 

Bonaparte returned to France, in 1793, ready to support 
the Jacobins, or any party which could save France from 
her foes. So far, in spite of his wonderful gifts, he was only 
known as the unsuccessful leader of the Revolutionary 
party in Corsica. During the summer he was eating out 
his heart in garrison in Provence, longing to get to the 
front, eagerly appealing to be transferred to the army of 
the Rhine. But in the autumn his chance came. On 
August 23rd, Toulon admitted the English and Spanish 
fleets into her harbour on behalf of Louis xvii. Amid the 
miscellaneous collection of troops that the Committee of 
Public Safety hurriedly despatched to try to regain the town, 
the genius of Captain Bonaparte made itself felt, first by the 
resource with which he created an artillery train, secondly 
by the soundness of his tactical advice, and thirdly by his 
magnetic influence over the troops. When Toulon fell, on 
December 17th, he had gained his majority (c/?^/"^^^ haiaillon), 
and had so firmly established his reputation as an officer of 
great ability that, in April 1794, he was appointed general 
officer commanding the artillery of the army of Italy. 

The glory of the Italian campaign of 1794 belongs to 
Massena, Bonaparte's share being due to the consummate 
skill with which the artillery was used. But before the 
year was over the artillery general proved that he had other 
gifts as great as his mihtary abihty. Sent on an embassy 
to Genoa, by sheer force of his wiU he compelled the Doge 
and Senate to comply with the French demands. But his 
career soon after this nearly came to an end, as at the time 
of the execution of Robespierre (July 24th) he was arrested 
as a Jacobin. 



366 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

In the following spring Bonaparte was recalled from the 
army of Italy to Paris. The government evidently agreed 
with General Scherer's report on him : ' This officer is general 
of artillery, and in this arm has sound knowledge, but has 
somewhat too much ambition and intriguing habits for his 
advancement.* He was offered the command of the troops 
destined to crush the royalist revolt in La Vendee, but 
this he refused ; however, thanks to the skill with which 
he drew up a strategical plan for the army of Italy, in 
August, he was appointed to the topographical bureau of 
the Committee of Public Safety. While he was thus 
engaged, the new constitution — ' the Directory ' — was 
published, on September 23rd. But the Convention, afraid 
that the royalists might gain a majority at the polls, 
desired that the law of the new constitution should apply 
to it, and that instead of dissolving only one-third of the 
members should retire, and the rest should continue to sit. 
At once there was an outcry from all who were weary 
of the Convention. The Convention leaders, foreseeing 
trouble, appointed Barras to command the troops in Paris ; 
and he selected among his subordinates Bonaparte, Brune 
and others. Bonaparte was entrusted with guarding the 
streets leading to the Tuileries from the north, and by his 
skilful use of the artillery, which Barras had summoned 
from the camp at Sablons, swept away the masses of 
malcontents. 

The 15 Vendemiaire (October 6th, 1795) is the turning 
point in the career of Bonaparte, and of the French Revolu- 
tion. The government of the day had for the first time, 
since the outbreak of the Revolution, successfully resisted 
the pressure of the mob and taught it a lesson ; while 
Bonaparte, who had won the favour of Barras, received 
his reward, first, in the command of the army of reserve, 
and, secondly, in gaining a wife. He had long admired 
Josephine de Beauharnais, a Creole of great attraction. 



NAPOLEON 367 

At first the gay widow had no eyes for the unkempt, sickly, 
untidy Corsican, regarded with ill favour by the govern- 
ment. But when Bonaparte sprang into favour among the 
upholders of the Directory, and Barras, his friend, promised 
him the command of the army of Italy, she yielded (March 
9th, 1796) to his ' violent tenderness amounting almost to 
frenzy ' : although she was half afraid of his ' keen, inexplic- 
able gaze which imposes even on our directors.' 

Bonaparte arrived in Italy burning with sympathy for the 
Italian people, but above all resolved to win his way to 
fame. He found the situation full of difficulties. He him- 
self was an artilleryman, and up to now had had little to do 
with the other arms of the service ; the army he was to 
command* was in a state of disorder and mutiny from bad 
management and want ; it numbered but forty-two 
thousand, against the fifty-two thousand composing the 
Austro-Sardinian force ; while his troops were strung out 
in a long line along the coast, the enemy in a central position 
held all the passes of the Apennines. The new general's 
first business was to turn his great powers of organisation 
to the commissariat and ordnance departments ; at the 
same time the mutineers were sternly punished ; then, 
having restored order, he began to play on the emotions 
of his troops. ' Soldiers,' ran his proclamation, ' you are 
half-starved and half-naked. The government owes you 
much, but can do nothing. Your patience and courage are 
honourable to you, but they procure you neither advantage 
nor glory. I am about to lead you into the most fertile 
valleys of the world : there you \vill find flourishing cities 
and teeming provinces : there you will reap glory and riches. 
Soldiers of the army of Italy, will you lack courage ? ' 

The soldiers answered to the bid, and Bonaparte from 
that day knew that the army was his. With consummate 
skill he caused the enemy to divide their forces, then hurled 
himself on their centre, and by the battles of Millesimo and 



368 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

Montenotte forced a wedge between the Austrians and 
Sardinians, and drove the latter in rout towards Turin. 
Next he showed the Directory that he was more their 
master than their servant : he exposed their ignorance of 
mihtary affairs, made the armistice of Cherasco (April 28th) 
with the Sardinians on his own account, whereby he gained 
the three most important fortresses— Alessandria, Ceva and 
Novi. Then, with lightning rapidity, he turned on the 
Austrians, hoodwinked them as to his plans, and manoeuvred 
them out of Milanese territory, gaining a theatrical victory 
over their rearguard at the bridge of Lodi (May loth), where 
his troops for his bravery on that day greeted him with 
the nickname of le petit caporal. The victory of Lodi, as 
Napoleon confessed, opened up to him vast plans of am- 
bition. He hurried to Milan, where he was greeted as a 
liberator. But while, with his precocious political skill, he 
there created a republic on the French model, he demanded 
from Lombardy twenty million francs and many works of 
art. The money nominally raised to support the army 
was more than sufficient, and he wrote to the Directory 
that he could send them seven or eight millions, ' it being 
over and above what the army requires.' The directors, 
like the soldiers, jumped to the bait. From that day 
Napoleon commenced to shake himself free from their 
authority, and entered on a course of conquest, well knowing 
that he could stifle all remonstrance by sending part of the 
spoil to Paris. Soon the other Itahan states like Parma 
and Modena were also mulcted, and Tuscany and Rome 
had to pay his requisitions. But Bonaparte himself 
retained his popularity with the Itahans by protesting that 
these exactions were the work of the Directory, and actively 
aiding in the introduction of republican institutions in 
the ravaged provinces. 

Meanwhile, the Emperor Francis 11. refused to acquiesce 
in the loss of the fertile province of Lombardy, and strained 



NAPOLEON 369 

every nerve to relieve the important fortress of Mantua on 
the Mincio, which was now besieged by the French. But 
the Austrian plans of campaign, made at Vienna, were 
always defective. They invariably aimed at surrounding 
the enemy, relying on the junction of forces on the field 
of battle. Bonaparte instinctively recognised that the 
capture of Mantua was a secondary operation as compared 
with the defeat of the enemy's armies in the field. The 
Austrians made four distinct attempts to relieve Mantua : 
the first, by way of a combined advance from both sides 
of Lake Garda, ended in Wurmser's defeat at Lonato- 
Castiglione (August). The second resulted in Massena 
defeating the Austrians at Bassano on the Adige, but 
Wurmser -with part of his troops succeeded in getting into 
Mantua. In the third attempt Alvinczy foiled the French 
at Caldiero, near Verona. But Bonaparte, by a bold 
turning movement through the marshes, aided by good 
fortune and bad Austrian tactics, won a lucky victory 
at Areola (November i5th-i7th), truly illustrating his 
saying, ' Fortune is a woman, and the more she does for 
me the more I require of her.' Still the emperor refused to 
consider himself beaten, and, in January 1797, he ordered 
Alvinczy to make another effort to save Mantua. But the 
Austrian troops found the French in position at Rivoli 
on the Adige. Thanks to Bonaparte's splendid use of 
the terrain, the Austrians' superiority in numbers was 
completely negatived, and the French won a magnificent 
victory. On January 14th, 1797, Mantua surrendered. The 
emperor thereon sent the Archduke Charles to oppose the 
conqueror ; but that capable general was hampered by 
excessive restrictions, and by a bad staff. Bonaparte, by 
brilliant strategy and consummate use of his topographical 
knowledge, forced him back, until, on April 17th, he was 
glad to make an armistice at Leoben, within a hundred 
miles of the Austrian capital Vienna. 

2 A 



370 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

Bonaparte remained in Italy during the rest of the year 
1797, holding a sort of informal court at Montebello. He 
successfully drew into his hands all the threads of the 
negotiations which resulted in the Peace of Campo Formio 
(19th October), whereby France was granted the Rhine as 
her frontier, and, in exchange for Milan, handed over to 
Austria the dominion of Venice. Bonaparte had seized 
Venetia for that very purpose, on the pretext of injuries 
done to French subjects. He was also busily engaged in 
welding Milan, Modena, Verona and Bologna into what 
was called the Cisalpine republic. Meanwhile, he kept a 
careful eye on France where royalist plots threatened the 
Directory. He was far too wise to show his hand, and allowed 
the fiery Augereau, ' a factious man,' to rush to Paris and 
incur the odium of expelling the directors Barthelemy and 
Carnot. But, in spite of this, there was constant friction 
between the directors and the conqueror of Italy, and when, 
in December, Bonaparte at last arrived in Paris amid 
triumphal receptions, they were at their wits' end to know 
how to get rid of him. He on his side had determined that 
he would teach them a lesson ; he accepted for the moment 
the appointment that they gave him of the command of the 
army of England ; but he determined to induce the govern- 
ment to send him on an expedition to the East. He recog- 
nised that the English power was the great enemy of the 
French republic, but that itwas impossible to invadeEngland 
without holding command of the sea. From his knowledge 
of the Mediterranean he thought it was quite possible to 
capture Egypt, and from there to hold out a hand to 
Tippoo Sahib and the other Indian potentates, and thus so 
to threaten England's colonial possessions and trade that 
she would be unable to interfere in continental affairs ; 
while he was certain that on his withdrawal from France 
there was no statesman of sufficient ability to direct the 
poHcy of the government, and no soldier capable of resisting 



NAPOLEON 371 

the foes who, he foresaw, would spring up on all sides 
owing to the stupidity and greed of the directors. 

It was therefore with the desire of humihating France 
and reappearing as her saviour that he planned the expedi- 
tion to the East, which had always so attracted him with 
its glamour ; for, as he said to his secretary Bourrienne, 
* This httle Europe does not supply enough of it (glory) for 
me. I must seek it in the East : all great fame comes from 
that quarter.' 

The directors were only too glad to fall in with his 
scheme. Everything seemed to prosper. Malta was 
seized : Nelson's pursuing fleet was eluded in a fog : and, on 
July ist, Bonaparte with some thirty-two thousand troops 
occupied Alexandria, commissioned by the directors to 
capture Egypt and exclude the English from ' all their 
possessions in the East to which the general can come.' 
But Bonaparte had further schemes ; he would arm the 
Christians of the East, seize Constantinople, and * take 
Europe in the rear.' In spite of the loss of his fleet at the 
battle of the Nile (August ist), Egypt was soon in his 
hands and rapidly organised as a French colony ; for Bona- 
parte had brought with him administrators and savants 
as well as soldiers. But Turkey would not give up her 
possession without a struggle, and, early in 1799, began to 
move her forces southwards. Bonaparte at once moved 
forward to meet the enemy, crossed the desert and entered 
Palestine, sweeping all before him, till at last he was brought 
to a check at Acre, where British guns and British seamen 
held the defences until the arrival of the Turkish army 
(May), when the French were forced to fall back into 
Egypt. The check at Acre had shattered his scheme of 
emulating Alexander by founding an empire in the East, 
and even after the famous victory of Austerlitz he was heard 
to murmur, 'J'ai manque a ma fortune a Saint Jean d'Acre.' 

From French papers sent to him in Egypt by Sir Sidney 



372 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

Smith, Bonaparte learned, in August, that what he had 
foreseen was happening. Austria and Russia had again 
declared war on France, and their forces were sweeping 
through Itah^ and pressing in on Switzerland and on the 
Rhine, while the English were threatening an invasion of 
Holland. Realising that the time was now ripe for his 
reappearance, leaving the arm}^ of Egypt in the capable 
hands of Kleber, he collected the most brilliant and pliant 
members of his staff, and, embarking in a couple of frigates, 
slipped through the blockading force. He landed at 
Frejus, on October 9th, and pushed on towards Paris, where 
he was hailed as the conqueror of the East. But in spite 
of the rapture with which he was greeted there was a fly 
in the ointment, for he found his wife Josephine had been 
unfaithful to him. 

For the moment, thanks to Massena's victory of Zurich, 
the danger from without was not so great as that from 
within. The failure of the directors to protect France, 
the struggle for power between them and the councils, 
the jealousy felt by the army, because all the high offices of 
state were filled by civilians, and the fact that the greater 
part of the new third of the councils desired a strong 
government and peace, all pointed to a crisis. Bonaparte 
was quite ready to become a director, but from that post 
he was excluded as he was not yet forty years old. He 
accordingly joined Sieyes, the great constitution-monger, 
who was plotting a revolution. The coup d'etat, of the i8th 
Brumaire (November 9th), practically made Bonaparte 
ruler of France. Its success was due to the presence of 
mind of Lucien Bonaparte, who, when the assembly was 
hostile and his brother hesitated, called in the troops. At 
the first meeting of the provisional government Sieyes asked, 
* Who shall preside ? ' 'Do you not see,' said Roger 
Ducos, ' that the general is in the chair ? ' Sieyes saw and 
recognised what it meant, for that evening he said to his 



NAPOLEON 373 

friends, ' Messieurs, nous avons un maitre : il suit tout ; il 
pent tout : il veiU tout.' 

The essence of the new constitution was that ' confidence 
comes from below, power from above.' All male adults 
were allowed to take part in the first stages of the election 
of deputies : in each district they could choose a tenth of 
their number (the nbtables of the commune), who in turn 
chose a tenth of their number (the notables of the depart- 
ment), who chose a tenth of their number (the notables oi 
the nation). From the last list the government chose the 
members of the legislative body and the permanent officials. 
The legislative body was subdivided into a senate, which 
chose the three consuls : the tribunate, which discussed laws 
but could not vote on them ; the legislature, which voted on 
laws but could not speak on them ; and the executive, com- 
posed of the three consuls and ministers of state nominated 
by the consuls, who alone could initiate legislation. Thus 
the consuls inherited all the powers of the old Committee 
of Public Safety, while they had absolute control of the 
executive and the legislature. The consuls were chosen for 
ten years ; but as the first consul controlled the army, 
navy, diplomatic service, and general administration, the 
others speedily dropped into insignificance. Bonaparte of 
course was first consul, while the other two were Cambaceres, 
a learned lawyer, but a regicide, and Lebrun, a moderate, 
with leanings towards constitutional royalty. 

The first consul immediately turned his attention to the 
pacification of France. He pursued a policy of moderation, 
refusing office to extremists of all kinds, granting toleration 
to the orthodox priests, and thus at last ending the revolt in 
La Vendee, and skilfully availing himself of the belief of the 
rebels in Normandy that he would soon recall the king. 
But very early the constitutionalists found that his com- 
plaisance had hmits. For, first, the freedom of debate in 
the tribunate was limited; and, next, the freedom of the 



374 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

press, under the plea of preventing the pubhcation of any 
article ' contrary to the respect due to the Social Compact, 
to the Sovereignty of the People, and to the Glory of the 
Armies.' 

From civilian administration Bonaparte was summoned 
to the task of putting an end to the war. By the spring of 
1800, Russia had withdrawn from the coalition. Jealous of 
England she turned into a friend of France, and raised up a 
League of the North to oppose the English treatment of 
neutrals. Soon a scheme was outhned ' for dealing the 
enemy a mortal blow,' by a combined Franco-Russian 
invasion of India. Meanwhile, Austria held all northern 
Italy: Massena was blockaded in Genoa, and the French 
could only just hold their own on the frontier along the 
Var. But, on June 14th, the situation was suddenly re- 
versed ; for, on that day, after having skilfully misled 
the enemy as to his intentions, and having crossed the 
Great St, Bernard Pass and occupied Piacenza, thus 
cutting their communications with home, Bonaparte 
brought the enemy to battle at Marengo. Thanks mainly to 
fortune, what seemed like a crushing defeat was turned into 
a great victory by the dash of Desaix in marching to the 
guns, and by the magnificent cavalry charge of the younger 
Kellermann. Six months later Moreau's victory of Hohen- 
linden (December 3rd) , brought Austria to her knees, and, 
on February 9th, 1801, the Treaty of Luneville was signed ; 
whereby the Rhine became France's eastern frontier ; the 
Cisalpine, the Ligurian, the Batavian and Helvetic re- 
publics were recognised ; and Austria received compensa- 
tion at the expense of the ecclesiastical states of the empire. 
England held out for another year, distrustful of Bona- 
parte's aims ; for with these additions to her territory France 
had now some forty-one milhon of people, and England had 
but sixteen million, five hundred thousand. However, in the 
end the weight of debt, and the need for a period of peace in 



NAPOLEON 375 

which to meet the new social conditions, arising from the 
commencement of the industrial revolution, induced the 
English ministers to listen to the French demands. By the 
Treaty of Amiens Egypt was restored to the Porte, Malta 
was given back to the knights of St. John, and England 
gave up all her colonial conquests save Ceylon and Trinidad. 
During the years which preceded and followed the Treaty 
of Amiens, the first consul laid the foundation on which all 
later governments of France have built. As he said, ' We 
have done with the romance of the Revolution : we must 
now commence its history. We must have eyes only for 
what is real and practical in the application of principle, 
and not for the speculative and hypothetical.' His first 
work was to provide for the administration of local govern- 
ment by means of prefects and sub-prefects : these officers 
nominated by himself and directly responsible to the council 
of state took the place of the old royal intendants, which had 
been usurped by the committees of the revolutionary period. 
Under his fostering care the roads and canals were restored 
and perfected, public buildings rebuilt, a regular system of 
national schools established, a university of France was 
organised for teaching purposes, and the law codified by 
the Code Napoleon. Lastly, a Concordat was made with 
the Papacy, whereby the Roman Cathohc religion was 
recognised as the religion of the state : and, in spite of all 
efforts of the pope, the bishops and the clergy became the 
paid servants of the state. The Concordat was a great 
tour deforce, for it once and for all established the peasantry 
on the Church lands, which they had gained at the Revolu- 
tion, and thus bound up their interests with Bonaparte's 
government. As one of his ministers said, ' The Concordat 
was the most brilliant triumph over the genius of the 
Revolution ' ; it healed the religious schism in France, and 
dealt a deadly blow at the revolutionary spirit. Having 
thus attached to his side the ' sacred gendarmerie,' and 



376 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

the peasant proprietors, he next made a bid for those who 
were ambitious of social distinction — another blow at the 
doctrine of equality. He instituted the Legion of Honour, 
not only for soldiers who had rendered considerable service 
to the state in the war of liberty, but also for civilians, ' who, 
by their learning, talents and virtues, contributed to estab- 
lish or defend the principles of the republic' The new 
institution rested principally on the confiscated lands, and 
helped to strengthen his position against all who desired 
the restoration of the monarchy and the old nobility. No 
one knew human nature better than Bonaparte, and he 
recognised that ' men are led by toys,' and that the French 
' have one failing — honour.' ' We must remember that 
failing,' he said ; ' they must have distinctions.' 

It was with the same design that Napoleon (as he called 
himself after he was granted the consulate for life on 
August 2nd, 1802) spent large sums in making Paris * the 
most beautiful capital in the world.' At the Tuileries and 
at his private house at Saint-Cloud he re-established all the 
old etiquette and uniforms of the court of Louis xvi., for, 
as he said, ' In France trifles are great things : reason is 
nothing.' But to appeal to the republican spirit he himself 
was conspicuous in his plain undress uniform of a colonel 
of the Consular Guard ; he calculated that this studied 
moderation would be very attractive to all those foreign 
visitors who flocked to see the great first consul. One of 
them thus describes him at the time, ' He is about five feet 
seven inches high, delicately and gracefully made ; his 
hair a dark brown crop, thin and lank ; his complexion 
smooth, pale and sallow ; his eyes grey, but very animated ; 
his eyebrows light brown, thin and projecting. All his 
features, particularly his mouth and nose, fine, sharp 
defined, and expressive beyond description. . . . The true 
expression of his countenance is a pleasing melancholy, 
which, when he speaks, relaxes into the most agreeable and 



NAPOLEON 377 

gracious smile you can imagine. . . . He speaks deliberately 
but very fluently, with particular emphasis, and in rather a 
low tone of voice. While he speaks his features are still 
more expressive than his words.' 

Napoleon had never intended the Peace of Amiens to be 
final ; but he was extremely disgusted at the renewal of the 
war by England, in May 1804, for he was desirous of 
building up a new colonial empire in the West, and of re- 
organising the French fleet, before he once again challenged 
the mistress of the sea. Still, he had himself to blame : 
for he must have known that England would look on these 
operations with suspicion ; while his acceptance of the 
presidency of the Italian republic (June 1802) and the 
annexation of Elba, Piedmont, Parma and Piacenza during 
the same summer, ending as it did in the occupation of 
Switzerland, in February 1803, and the publication of 
Sebastiani's reports on Egypt, made war inevitable ; so 
when he insisted on the surrender of Malta, the English 
government refused and withdrew their ambassador from 
Paris. 

Napoleon's reply to the British declaration of war was 
to seize Hanover, and then to prepare for an invasion of 
England, by the establishment of huge camps stretching 
from Brest to Utrecht : while the dockyards of Holland, 
France and Italy were busy equipping battleships and 
barges for the transport of troops. For tw^o years these 
preparations continued, but broke down owing to Nelson's 
watchfulness, whereby the French fleet were so successfully 
shadowed that it never got the forty-eight hours' control of 
the Channel which Napoleon desired. Meanwhile, England 
reoccupied the Cape of Good Hope, attacked the French 
colonial possessions in the West Indies, and encouraged the 
royalists in France. Some of the junior ministers lent their 
authority to a plot for Napoleon's assassination. The plot 
failed. Georges Cadoudal, the leader, was arrested and 



378 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

executed ; Pichegru, who was implicated, died in prison ; 
and Moreau, whose compHcity was proved, was banished to 
America. Napoleon now determined to read the royalists 
a lesson. He was wrongly informed by a spy that Dum- 
ouriez, the victor of Valm.y, was implicated in this plot, and 
was staying with the young Duke d'Enghien, just across the 
Rhine at Ettenheim, in Baden territory. Contrar}^ to all 
international law he secretly sent a body of French soldiers 
to arrest the prince and bring him to Vincennes, where he had 
a court-martial assembled, ready to sentence him to death. 
The evidence proved that Dumouriez had had no connection 
with the young prince, and that the duke had never plotted 
against the first consul. Still, in spite of Josephine's 
entreaties, Napoleon refused to stay the execution. The 
murder of the Duke d'Enghien, as Fouche is reported to 
have said, ' was worse than a crime — it was a blunder,' 
because it alienated Prussia and Russia, and helped the 
English to form a new coalition against France. But it 
gave Napoleon the opportunity to insinuate that the only 
way of stopping these plots was to adopt the hereditary 
system. Thus, as Paris said, the plotters ' came to France 
to give her a king, and they gave her an emperor.' 

Napoleon had long foreseen that one day he would be 
emperor, but, as he said to his brother Joseph, ' I thought 
that such a step could not be taken before the lapse of five 
or six years.' The mass of the nation, sick of the un- 
certainties of the years of Revolution, cared little as long 
as there was settled government. The peasantry saw in 
Napoleon the guarantor of their possessions. The ultra- 
Jacobins had to acknowledge that, if the hereditary system 
was established, conspiracies to murder would be meaning- 
less : while the army was gained over by carefully dismissing 
or sending on foreign missions the ultra-republican generals, 
and by bribing the phable by titles and estates. The conse- 
quence was that the nation decided, by a majority of three 



NAPOLEON 379 

million, five hundred thousand votes, that the first consul 
should become emperor. The force of religion was used to 
sanctify the arrangement, and the pope was induced to 
come to Paris to perform the ceremony. Every detail of 
the great event was thought out by Napoleon himself ; 
every spiritual, moral, and material force was requisitioned ; 
and the sword of Charlemagne was brought from Aix-la- 
Chapelle, to propagate the idea that the empire of the great 
hero was about to be revived. But while he called to his 
aid the Church and the army, Napoleon would have men 
know that he was the builder of his own fortunes. Before 
the pope could place the crown on his head he stepped up 
to the altar and crowned himself with his own hands ; while 
he told his newly created marshals, ' Recollect that you are 
soldiers only when with the army. . . . On the battlefield 
you are generals, at court you are nobles, belonging to the 
state by the civil position I created for you.' 

It was on May i8th, 1804, that Napoleon became 
Emperor of the French. Three months later, on August 
nth, Francis 11,, the last of the Holy Roman emperors, 
acknowledging the new condition created by the Treaty of 
Luneville, gave up his ancient title and proclaimed himself 
hereditary Emperor of Austria. Events marched quickly ; 
in May 1805, Napoleon transformed the Cisalpine republic 
into a monarchy, and was crowned King of Italy with the 
Iron Crown at Milan ; in June, he incorporated Genoa and 
the Ligurian republic in France ; while Lucca was trans- 
formed into a principality' for his sister Pauhne, the Princess 
Borghese. The emperors of Austria and Russia, heavily 
subsidised with English gold, were easily induced to find in 
the annexation of Genoa and Lucca a pretext for war. 
Probably this was Napoleon's reason for the annexation, 
as he desired if necessary to have the opportunity of cover- 
ing the failure of his naval scheme against England by a 
successful European war. 



38o LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

It was on August 23rd that Napoleon heard that Ville- 
neuve had abandoned the dash at the Channel, and that 
Austria was speedily arming ; at once he began to try and 
win Prussia to his side by offering her Hanover, and at the 
same time commenced making preparations to change his 
front and hurl the * army of England ' on Austria. Czar- 
toryski said of him, * Napoleon is the only man in Europe 
that knows the value of time.* Austria found this to her 
cost ; by September 20th, the Grand Army was on the 
Rhine, and, by October 20th, the Austrian General Mack 
had capitulated with his army at Ulm. Six weeks later 
Napoleon had occupied Vienna, and on the anniversary of 
his coronation, December 2nd, had defeated the combined 
armies of Russia and Austria at Austerlitz, his masterpiece. 
There he successfully tempted the allies to try to turn his 
right flank, and then, when their forces were disseminated, 
hurled his strength against their weakened centre. Before 
the year was over Austria had been glad to buy peace at 
Pressburg, by ceding Venice, Istria and Dalmatia to the new 
kingdom of Italy and the Tyrol and Swabia to Bavaria, 
whose elector took the title of king, and pledged himself to 
the French emperor by marrying his daughter to Prince 
Eugene, Napoleon's step-son. 

The success of Austerlitz killed Pitt. ' Roll up the map 
of Europe; we shall not want it this ten years,' he said. 
Fox and GranviUe who succeeded him desired peace. 
Napoleon met their negotiations by offering to restore 
Hanover, which he had granted to Prussia, on February 
15th, 1806, in exchange for Cleve, which was ceded to 
France, and Anspach to Bavaria. A further sign of 
Napoleon's restless ambition was seen in the fact that he 
had conquered the kingdom of Naples and given it to his 
brother Joseph, and had made another brother, Louis, 
King of Holland. Prussia accordingly began to mobihse 
her troops • she was seriously annoyed by the Confederation 



NAPOLEON 381 

of the Rhine, composed of Baden, Bavaria, Wiirttemberg 
and Hesse-Darmstadt, and other smaller states. The 
Confederation had been organised by Napoleon, and had 
placed itself under his protection, and this interfered with 
Prussian predominance in Western Germany. But Prussia 
could make no better stand against Napoleon than Austria. 
At Auerstadt and Jena her armies were swept away, and 
within six weeks of the commencement of war every fortress 
in the country had surrendered ; and the French troops, 
pushing over the Vistula, had entered Poland. In the 
following spring, the Russians, though defeated, very nearly 
destroyed the Grand Army at the battles of Eylau and 
Friedland, and both Alexander and Napoleon were glad to 
come to an agreement. Alexander fell entirely under the 
emperor's influence. ' I never had more prejudices against 
any one,' he said, * than against him, but after three 
quarters of an hour's conversation they disappeared like a 
dream.' Russia now entered the orbit of France, and gave 
her adhesion to the ' continental system,' whereby British 
commerce was to be excluded from the continent. Every 
neutral ship, that had traded at a British port, ipso facto 
became an enemy's ship liable to capture. Napoleon in 
return promised not to re-establish a kingdom of Poland, 
and instead set up a Grand Duchy of Warsaw under French 
tutelage : he further pledged himself to help Russia to 
extend her boundaries at the expense of Turkey and 
Sweden. Prussia was practically dismembered. Her 
Rhenish provinces, added to the Grand Duchy of Berg, were 
turned into the kingdom of Westphaha for Jerome, the 
youngest Bonaparte ; all her Polish possessions went to 
form the new Grand Duchy ; her army was reduced to 
forty thousand men, and the remainder of her territory 
occupied by French troops until she had paid a huge 
indemnity. 

Master of central Europe, Napoleon turned his eyes to 



382 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

the West, where Portugal refused to join the continental 
system. Bribing Spain, by the promise of a partition of 
her neighbour, he got leave for his troops to pass through 
that country, and, by November 1807, Junot had occupied 
Portugal, and the house of Braganza had fled to Brazil. 
Elated by his enormous success, he then took advantage of 
the squabbles between the members of the royal house of 
Spain to invite both the king and his heir, Prince Ferdinand, 
to Bayonne. At the same time, he occupied Madrid with 
an army under his brother-in-law Murat (March 1808) ; and, 
in June, after deposing the Bourbons, he transferred his 
brother Joseph from Naples to Madrid and created Murat 
King of Naples. 

Hitherto Napoleon had been fighting against kings, not 
against nations ; and had as heir to the Revolution always 
been able to appeal to the democratic forces in every coun- 
try. But the haughty Spanish people refused to acquiesce 
in such shameful treatment : everj^where they rose in arms, 
and, on July 21st, Napoleon received his first check when 
General Dupont and a French army had to surrender to 
the Spanish forces at Baylen. The results of this disaster 
were far-reaching, and followed by risings against the 
French in Germany and elsewhere. Meanwhile, England 
had not been idle while her great adversar}- was con- 
quering the continent, as the only means of humbhng her. 
She had replied to the continental sj^stem by the Orders in 
Council, whereby she declared a blockade of all countries 
occupied by or in possession of the French. After Tilsit, 
in September 1807, she had seized the Danish fleet at 
Copenhagen to prevent it falhng into the hands of her 
enemy. Now she gladly responded to the demands of the 
Spaniards, and poured money and arms into the country, 
and what was better, in August, sent a British force to 
Portugal. Napoleon recognised the gravity of the situa- 
tion ; after interviewing his ally the Czar at Erfurt (October 



NAPOLEON 383 

12th), he hurried to Spain, intent on crushing the Spanish 
resistance and dispelhng the shock his prestige had received 
at Baylen, for, as he said, * You can always supply the place 
of soldiers. Honour alone, when once lost, can never be 
regained.' Thanks, however, to Sir John Moore's plucky 
advance Napoleon's combinations against Spain were 
broken up, and he was drawn northwards into pursuit of 
the British. 

Meanwhile, Austria, emboldened by the success of the 
Spaniards, had decided to try another fall ^^ith her enemy. 
In Paris also, in spite of the suppression of the tribunate 
(September 1807), public feeling was beginning to dislike 
the endless war, and Fouche and Talleyrand were begin- 
ning to plot. Accordingly, early in January 1808, seeing 
that the English had escaped him, the emperor gave over 
command of the pursuing force to Soult and hastened home. 
The Austrian war opened auspiciously, and, after the 
five days' fighting near Ratisbon, Napoleon quickly 
occupied Vienna. But at Aspern-Esseling (May) the 
Archduke Charles foiled him, and for a moment it seemed 
as if the huge edifice he had built would collapse. The 
victory of Wagram (July 5th and 6th), however, brought 
Austria to her knees, and she was forced to agree to the 
Treaty of Vienna, which stripped her of the remainder of 
her Italian possessions and most of her Polish conquests. 
Napoleon now thought to establish his position among the 
crowTied heads of Europe, by divorcing Josephine and 
marrying the Austrian Archduchess Marie Louise. A year 
later, March 23rd, 181 1, he seemed to have gained his 
highest ambition, for the new empress presented him with 
a son, whom he at once created King of Rome. 

But, in spite of all these successes, the signs of decay had 
set in. The Spanish ulcer had already begun to gnaw at 
his vitals. Joseph was unable to pacify the country, and 
gradually the fame of the British troops under Sir Arthur 



384 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

Wellesley began to grow, as marshal after marshal of France 
fell back defeated before them. The Czar also was becom- 
ing restive ; he found the continental system was ruining 
his country's commerce ; he was apprehensive of the 
Emperor's Polish policy ; he was irritated by the preference 
of an Austrian archduchess to a Russian princess ; and he 
was furious at the annexation of Oldenburg, his family's 
possession. In Sweden the French marshal Bernadotte, 
Napoleon's personal enemy, newly adopted as crown prince, 
was plotting against him ; while the pope, since the divorce 
of Josephine, had refused to acknowledge his authority. 
But, worst of all, Aspern-Esseling, Wagram, and the battles 
in Spain were teaching the world that the French troops 
were no longer invincible, and in Germany the Tugendbund 
was spreading the gospel of patriotism. Still England was 
feehng the strain of the war, and the exclusion of her 
commerce from the continent. In 1812, Napoleon, who 
by now no longer judged facts by what they were, but by 
what he wanted them to be, determined to force Alexander 
to adhere to the continental system, and in the autumn 
invaded Russia with half a million men. Throwing 
prudence to the winds he kept following the retreating 
Russians to Moscow. Winter overtook him there before he 
could bring the Russians to their knees, and he was com- 
pelled to make a disastrous retreat, only bringing back some 
fifty-nine thousand out of his half million men. In spite 
of this, in June 1813, by superhuman efforts, he was able 
once again to take the field. But Prussia had joined 
the Russians and Austria also declared war : after his 
lieutenants had been defeated in detail, Napoleon himself 
was overwhelmed by the alhes at the battle of Leipzig 
(October iGth-iQth). Then Murat deserted him. But in 
spite of this he would agree to no truce which curtailed 
French territory or took away the Rhine frontier. The 
winter campaign in France (1814) proved how great a 



NAPOLEON 385 

soldier he was, but in the end, he was overborne by sheer 
weight of numbers. Then, deserted by the very men he 
had exalted, he was forced, on April 6th, to abdicate, for the 
army like the rest of France was sick of the endless struggle. 
The fact was at last brought home to him when Ney, in 
reply to his saying, * The army will obey me/ retorted, 
' No, it will obey its commanders.' 

It was arranged that Napoleon should retain the title 
of emperor, and be granted the island of Elba ; while the 
Bourbons, thanks to Talleyrand's influence with the Czar, 
were brought back to France, and a congress met at Vienna 
to remodel the map of Europe. The Bourbons returned, 
having * learnt nothing and forgotten nothing ' ; and 
Napoleon, in the spring of 1815, seeing the army and 
peasantry incensed against the returned dynasty, suddenly 
reappeared in France, where he was greeted with immense 
enthusiasm. He at once granted a free constitution, and 
proclaimed that he had no intention of attempting to 
aggrandise himself. The Congress of Vienna replied by 
declaring him an outlaw, consigned ' to public prosecution.' 
They saw that * the question is peace with Bonaparte now, 
and war with him in Germany two years hence.' So every 
country in Europe hastened to arm. But before the might 
of Europe could be collected, Napoleon fell on the English 
and Prussian troops in the Netherlands, only to be defeated 
at Waterloo, and forced to fly back to Paris where he once 
again abdicated. This time the powers decided that he 
should never again be given the chance of escaping, and 
banished him to the lonely island of St. Helena, in the 
middle of the southern Atlantic. 

The Napoleon of the Hundred Days was very different 
from the emperor of old. ' He seemed habitually calm, 
pensive and preserved, without affectation, a serious dignity, 
with little of the old audacity and self-confidence ... a 
kind of lassitude, that he had never known before, took hold 

2B 



386 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

of him after some hours of work/ In fact the cancer of 
the stomach, from which he ultimately died, had com- 
menced its insidious attack on his wonderful constitution. 

During the six years of exile at St. Helena, Napoleon still 
believed that one day he would return to France. He 
spent the time in dictating his Memoirs, displaying all the 
wonderful power of deceit which had enabled him, all 
through his career, to make men judge his actions and 
motives not as they really were, but as he wished them to 
appear. From time to time he managed to despatch to 
Europe documents, which he hoped would stir up a coalition 
against England, and enlist the democratic sympathies of 
the continent in his behalf. But, in spite of all odium, the 
English ministers, well aware of his plots to escape to 
America, would relax none of their precautions. It was a 
pitiful existence for the former ruler of Europe to spend his 
time wranghng with the faithful friends who had accom- 
panied him into exile, or attempting by petty malice to 
annoy Sir Hudson Lowe, the governor of the island. But 
we must make allowance for the ennui of such a situation 
to a man of the emperor's mental and physical activit}^ 
and also for the gradual growth of the malignant and painful 
malady. During April 1821, the disease rapidly gained on 
him. The end came on May 5th. Amid a raging storm 
he passed away murmuring, * France, armee, tete d'armee, 
Josephine.' 

' They seek to destroy the Revolution by attacking my 
person : I will defend it, for I am the Revolution.' Here 
at all events hes one of the causes of Napoleon's early 
success. The Revolution, which had its origin in discontent 
and hatred of the remnants of feudalism and of clerical 
authority, and whose driving power was faith in the 
doctrine of equahty, as propounded by Rousseau, had run 
its course. Equahty had been gained, but by the time of 
the Directory liberty and fraternity were disappearing 



NAPOLEON 387 

before the advent of a selfish oHgarchy. Constitutional 
crisis followed crisis, as various combinations sought to 
capture the executive power of the state, with the result 
that, by 1799, France found herself rent by internal dissen- 
sions, a prey to her foreign enemies. It was to obtain peace 
at home and security abroad that the nation acquiesced in 
a dictatorship. Napoleon knew that he had gained his 
power because he was absolutely necessary to France, and 
that he could only retain it by ever reminding her that she 
could not do without him. The problem he had to solve 
was how, under the guise of liberty, to build up a despotism ; 
and how to found this despotism, not on the swords of the 
army, but on civil consent. 

The one unchanging factor in the problem was this, that 
the peasantry, who were numerically by far the greatest 
number of the citizens, cared little about the institutions 
and government of the state, as long as they were guaranteed 
the land which the}^ had acquired during the Revolution. 
This meant that they would acquiesce in anything, as long 
as the Bourbons did not return. Hence, when Napoleon 
proclaimed himself emperor, and thus stood forward as 
the decided opponent of the old royal house, his action 
was extremely popular with the mass of the people. The 
introduction of the Code Napoleon, which swept away 
feudal law and rested the foundation of property on Roman 
law, completed the task of binding the peasantry to the 
empire. Thereafter Napoleon, as long as he was successful 
and could wage war at the expense of other nations, had 
nothing to fear, for he gave France glory and excitement, 
the two requirements she could not do without. Hence, he 
was gradually able to muzzle the tribunate and hobble the 
Legislative Assembly. As he said, ' In my opinion the 
French do not care for liberty and equality : they have but 
one sentiment — honour. Therefore that sentiment must 
be gratified.' But there was one weak spot in the foundation 



388 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

on which he built, and he knew it well ; he never could 
afford to let the nation get bored. ' My power would fail/ 
he said, as early as 1802, *if I were not to support it with 
new glory and new victories. Conquest has made me what 
I am ; only conquest can maintain me.' 

No man has ever been more cynically ambitious than 
Napoleon. ' My mistress is power,' he said, and he refused 
to allow that he gained it by innate genius. ' I know 
what labour, what sleepless nights, what scheming, it has 
involved.' To gain power he would stop at nothing, the 
execution of individuals, or the overthrow of a nation. 
But it was not merely by hard work that he obtained his 
ends ; no one had ever such a clear insight into the workings 
of the human mind, and no one has known better how to 
play on men's feelings. In dealing with individuals, when 
he could not dazzle them with his personality, he invariably 
tried to cow them with his rage. In handling large masses 
of people, none knew better how to allure them by appealing 
to their sense of generosity or their feelings of indignation. 
His proclamations to his soldiers were masterpieces in the 
art of inflaming the imagination. He was ever casting 
over in his mind how to educate public opinion. During 
his campaigns, we find him dictating orders as to the 
education of women, the training of artists at the Academic 
Frangaise, or the erection of statues to mayors of village 
communes who had successfully reduced the parish debt. 
No detail was too small to be overlooked. The Moniteur, 
the official paper, contained the view he wanted to be taken 
of events, but all newspapers were employed, as occasion 
required, to hoodwink public opinion. Every act, every 
word had its particular object : the recognition of an old 
soldier in the ranks, the wearing of parade dress when pass- 
ing through an enemy's capital, or the particular emphasis 
to be laid on some exclamation in a theatrical performance. 
Part of this organised scheme was his professed belief in his 



NAPOLEON 389 

star. * Caesar,' he said, * was right to cite his good fortune 
and beHeve in it. That is a means of acting on the imagina- 
tion of others without offending any one's self-love.' 

In dealing with those countries which he had conquered, 
he employed the same principles which he found successful 
in France. In Germany, Italy and Poland the mass of 
the inhabitants were serfs. The advent of the Napoleonic 
armies spelt freedom : in the wake of these armies came 
French officials with new forms of administration, the 
abolition of serfdom, and the Code Napoleon. The regular 
taxation of the new administration was not so vexatious as 
the old feudal customs. In Germany, except perhaps in 
Prussia, there was no national feeling ; many of the princes 
were glad to ally themselves with Napoleon against Austria, 
and at first at least the philosophical element was on the 
side of the French. In Italy there was no love for any of 
the old dynasties, and everywhere there was a strong 
party which longed for the erection of a national kingdom, 
and preferred the Napoleonic rule to the old state of affairs. 
It was only in Spain where serfdom did not exist, and where 
national pride was strong, that Napoleon failed from the 
first. It is strange indeed that he, usually so clear sighted, 
did not apprehend the lesson that the Spanish people 
taught him, that once the spirit of nationality spread 
through Europe his attempt to found a European empire 
was doomed to fail. He saw plainly how easy it was to 
overthrow the existing political organisations, and he seems 
to have thought that by hounding out of their country 
men like the Prussian, Stein, he could easily prevent the 
growth of patriotism. He failed to recognise that, by 
destroying the feudal system, he himself had given the 
greatest blow to the cosmopolitan system on which he 
hoped to build. As the years rolled on, in spite of the 
Russian campaign, he refused to relinquish his ambition of 
emulating Charlemagne. In 1813 and 1814, he rejected all 



390 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

reasonable compromise : as he said to Metternich at Dresden, 
in 1813, ' If it costs me my throne, I will bring the whole 
world under its ruins/ 

Whatever we think of Napoleon, whether we forgive his 
selfishness because of his marvellous capacity, or condone 
the harm that he did to individuals, because through 
despotism he broke down the old barriers of caste and paved 
the way for liberty, we are bound to acknowledge that he 
is one of the greatest men the world has ever known. ' I 
have fought fifty pitched battles,' he said, * almost all of 
which I have won. I have framed and carried into effect 
a code of laws that will bear my name to the most distant 
posterity. I raised myself from nothing to be the most 
powerful monarch in the world.' 



CAVOUR 

The two great objects of the statesmen who assembled at 
Vienna, after the final overthrow of Napoleon, were (i) to 
find some permanent settlement, whereby the revolutionary 
spirit might be so stifled that it should never be able to 
burst forth again ; and (2) so to rearrange the map of 
Europe that they might re-establish the old ' balance of 
power.' The idea of nationality had no place in their 
schemes. France was restricted to her boundaries of 1789 : 
Sweden was confined to the north side of the Baltic, where, 
as a reward for her services against Napoleon, she found in 
Norway a compensation for the loss of Pomerania. The 
Netherlands were transferred to Holland by Austria, who 
received in exchange Lombardy and Venetia : Prussia was 
gratified by the acquisition of part of Saxony and West- 
phalia, which brought her scattered territories up to the 
Rhine. Poland was repartitioned between Austria, Prussia 
and Russia ; while the place of the Holy Roman Empire 
was to be taken by a new Germanic Confederation. 

To secure the stability of the system various ideas were 
mooted. The Czar desired a Holy Alliance to give religious 
sanction to the scheme ; but it received greater security by 
the formation, in November 1815, of the Quadruple Alliance 
of England, Austria, Prussia and Russia. The alliance 
was in reality aimed at France : but it had a wider scope, 
as it sought to set up a Confederation of Europe, to con- 
solidate the intimate relations which now united the four 
sovereigns for the world's happiness, and to create measures 
* for the repose and prosperity of the peoples.' A further 

391 



392 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

guarantee for the permanency of the settlement was sought 
in the doctrine of * Legitimacy,' propounded by Talleyrand ; 
the idea being that the governments found their sanction 
in long possession, in the same way that private propert}^ 
finds its title in prescription. The outbreak of the revolu- 
tionary spirit in Germany, and plots to murder the Czar and 
the Duke of Wellington, soon proved that France was not 
the greatest danger to the settlement of 1815 ; accordingly, 
in 1818, at the Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle she was allowed 
to join the Quadruple AUiance, which, in spite of the 
protests of England, began to assume the appearance of a 
combination of the greater governments to repress liberty 
in every part of Europe. 

Nowhere had the Napoleonic system been more popular 
than in Italy. As we have seen, owing to her geographical 
structure and to the predominance, first, of the empire and, 
later, of the Papacy, Italy had never become a nation : 
local and municipal interests had defeated the idea of 
nationality : municipal self-government had fallen a prey 
to political adventurers ; and, by the eighteenth century, 
Italy was a mere conglomeration of states for the most part 
ruled by foreigners. Still, throughout the peninsula men 
spoke the same language, held the same religion, but had 
Uttle other community of interest, except that every Italian 
was proud of the great art and literature of the Italian 
Renaissance and, above all, of the ancient glories of Rome. 
Even in the eighteenth century the national spirit had begun 
to take root, and hence it was that the armies of the 
Revolution were greeted with an enthusiasm which not 
even the greed of the Directory could kill. The Napoleonic 
kingdoms of Italy and Naples to some extent fulfilled these 
aspirations for national unity, while by the introduction 
of the Code Napoleon and the revision of the criminal code, 
liberty and security were guaranteed to an extent hitherto 
unknown. 



CAVOUR 393 

In 1814, the allies held out hopes that a united kingdom 
of Italy might be forthcoming. But with the fall of 
Napoleon the old state of affairs was brought back. Metter- 
nich could only see in the word Italy * a geographical 
expression.' Under his guidance Austria received Lombardy 
and Venetia ; Tuscany, Parma and Modena became states 
for Hapsburg archdukes ; the papal legations of Ferrara, 
Bologna and Reggio, and the district of Romagna, were 
once again restored to the pope ; the Bourbons returned to 
Naples, and the house of Savoy to Turin. Of all these 
settlements the most unpopular was the annexation of 
Lombardy and Venetia by Austria, and the most popular 
was the return of the house of Savoy from Sardinia. The 
dukes of Savoy had gained Piedmont and Sardinia early in 
the eighteenth century, with the title of Kings of Sardinia : 
their policy had been so to hang on the outskirts of every 
European war, that at the conclusion of peace they might 
be able to demand a small addition to their territories ; 
in fact, gradually to eat up Lombardy like ' an artichoke.' 
In continuance of this policy, at the Congress of Vienna 
Victor Emmanuel had contrived to gain the inclusion of the 
old republic of Genoa within his domains. Although he had 
come back with all his old-fashioned ideas and prejudices, 
and had refused to grant a constitution, the old king was 
not unpopular: from the first he set himself to main- 
tain the independence of his country, and to resist the 
attempt which Austria was making, of forming a league of 
Italian princes under the leadership of the emperor. 

In 1820, came the Spanish revolution, followed by the 
insurrection of Naples. In a moment all Italy was in 
commotion. The king of Naples, bowing before the 
storm, granted his kingdom the constitution demanded, 
modelled on the Spanish Constitution of 1812. In Pied- 
mont there was a rising in which the army took part. 
The liberal party looked for assistance to Charles Albert of 



394 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

Carignano, who, after the king's brother, Charles FeHx, 
was next in succession to the throne. The old king resigned 
in favour of his brother, and as Charles Felix was absent in 
Modena, the regency fell into the hands of Charles Albert. 
But this prince, in spite of his liberal inclinations, lacked 
courage. The Austrians defeated the Piedmontese at 
Novara ; Charles Felix returned and Charles Albert with- 
drew into retirement, distrusted by both parties, revolu- 
tionary and reactionary alike. Then followed, in 1821, the 
conference at Laibach, at which Austria was entrusted with 
the task of stamping out the revolution in Naples. Two 
years later France conducted a similar mission in Spain. 

The brutal measures meted out to the revolutionaries 
failed to quench their spirit. Abroad the Italian patriots 
saw with delight the rising of the down-trodden Greeks 
against the Turks, while at the Congress of Verona England 
protested against the policy of interference by the powers 
in the private policy of other states. In Italy a new 
movement came to birth which was powerful for good. 
Repressed by the governments, the Italians had during 
Napoleon's time formed secret societies, with the object of 
attaining their aims. The chief of these was the Carbonari. 
This society was an offshoot of the Neapolitan Freemasons, 
formed during Murat's rule. After 1815, the society fell 
into the hands of those who were opposed to the bigoted 
and tyrannous rule of the restored princes. But it was 
suffering from decadence ; it had lost touch with the 
masses, and was mainly composed of middle-aged pro- 
fessional men who discouraged the younger and more 
enthusiastic, and its incompetence to achieve any good had 
clearly been shown, during the years 1820-1821. In 1831, 
the year in which Prince Charles Albert succeeded to the 
throne of Sardinia, Mazzini, a young Genoese, disgusted 
with the Carbonari, full of violent hatred of the Austrians, 
had to fly from Italy. He hurried to France, where he had 



CAVOUR 395 

great hopes of gaining for his country the support of those 
who had been instrumental in the preceding year in over- 
throwing the Bourbons and estabhshing the constitutional 
monarchy of Louis Philippe. Finding these hopes delusive, 
he set about to found a society which should impregnate 
the masses of Italy with the desire for liberty. This was 
the famous society of ' Young Italy.' Mazzini's idea was 
to prove to the people that their only hope of amelioration 
and social improvement lay in the expulsion of the 
Austrians. He appealed to the young and to the lower 
classes, and soon his enthusiastic missionaries were en- 
rolling recruits throughout the peninsula ; while he and his 
band of workers were slaving in Lyons, organising, inciting, 
and collecting money. But while his idea of appealing to 
the people was sound, Mazzini unfortunately relied on a 
system of plots and petty revolts. Meanwhile, there was 
growing up in Piedmont a party whose aim, like Mazzini's, 
was the expulsion of the Austrians, but who were convinced 
that this could only be brought about by the means of a 
regular army ; and who aimed at making Piedmont the 
nucleus round which the other Italians might gather. To 
this party belonged Cavour. 

Camillo Basso di Cavour, the second son of the Marquis 
Michele Giuseppe di Cavour, was born in 1810. His father, 
an upholder of the Napoleonic system, had held the office 
of grand chamberlain to the Prince Borghese, when the 
husband of Pauline Bonaparte was governor of the Hautes 
Alpes, as Piedmont was termed. Camillo was named after 
the Prince Borghese, who acted as his godfather, and 
Princess Pauline held him in her arms at the font. When 
quite a small boy he was for a time page to Charles Albert : 
but he was soon sent back to school as unfit for the 
duty, an occurrence which by no means displeased him, as 
he remarked that ' he was glad he had thrown off his pack- 
saddle.' When sixteen years old he was given a commis- 



396 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

sion as a distinction for his ability in passing examina- 
tions, and he was allowed to enter the army at eighteen, 
two years before the regulation time. Owing to his 
exceptional mathematical ability he was posted to the 
engineers. But his military career was short : some rash 
expression of liberal opinion was reported at court, and as a 
punishment he was detailed for garrison duty at the solitary 
fort of Barde. When his year there was finished he 
resigned his commission. 

The young count, smarting under persecution for his 
liberaHsm, joined one of the secret societies. But he had 
no great belief in conspiracies or insurrections, and he was 
almost as much opposed to the schemes of Mazzini as to 
those of Metternich. Accordingly, in 1833, he determined 
to travel abroad. He resided for some time in France and 
in Switzerland, living to the outward eye the idle life of 
a rich young nobleman, at one time losing as much as 
;f5ooo at the gaming-tables ; but all the time studying the 
politics and interior economy of the governments of the 
countries in which he resided. The following letter, written 
at the age of twenty-four, during the first year of his 
absence, is worthy of note : * I am very grateful, madame, 
to you, for the interest you are kind enough to take in my 
misfortunes ; but I can assure you I shall make my way 
notwithstanding. I own that I am ambitious — enormously 
ambitious — and when I am minister I hope I shall justify 
my ambition. In my dreams I see myself already minister 
of the kingdom of Italy.' Here, then, lay the goal to 
which he was looking forward, a united Italy, and to this 
ideal he devoted his life. With the view of understanding 
thoroughly the details of agricultural economics, he spent 
two years managing the large estates in the Ardennes of 
his aunt, the Duchess of Clermont-Tonnerre. He made 
occasional visits to England, spending the greater part 
of his time in the gallery of the House of Commons, 



CAVOUR 397 

studying parliamentary procedure. From his youth an 
omnivorous reader, every day for hours he studied con- 
temporary pohtical Uterature, and to the end of his Hfe 
he took in and read the Times, the Morning Post, and the 
Economist. 

Cavour's genius lay in the fact that he could conceive 
what was possible and reduce the possibility to reality. 
Abstract speculation which led to nothing tangible, ideal 
schemes which could not be developed into practice, were 
alike distasteful to him. * His desire and plans and faith 
were all bounded by what was practicable, possible and 
reahsable.' Accordingly, when he first returned to Italy, 
in 1842, he devoted his energies to practical schemes for the 
good of society, and threw himself heart and soul into the 
foundation of infant orphan asylums. But he was forced 
to resign his appointment on the managing committee of 
these asylums, as his reputed liberalism was supposed to 
be detrimental to the pecuniary interests of the institutions. 
Thereafter he took a leading part in the foundation of the 
' Sardinian Agricultural Society.' Charles Albert long 
hesitated to grant the society a charter, as he was afraid it 
might become a political association : as indeed it soon did. 
All sorts of political as well as agricultural problems were 
discussed, and thanks to this society the liberals fell into 
two distinct parties : The popular party who sought to 
give the supreme power in the association to the vote of 
the majority; and the aristocratic party — among whom 
was Cavour — who insisted that the president of the society 
should always have the initiative and the power of the veto. 
Cavour was one of the society's most active members. 
' During all his life he held firm to the idea that political 
liberty was useless or impossible unless it was accompanied 
by commercial and industrial prosperity, and that in 
promoting the latter you are really securing the former as 
well.' 



398 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

Occupied thus with the practical work of founding 
institutions and managing his own estates at Leri, during 
the first four years of his return to his native land Cavour 
found time to write articles for French and Italian magazines 
on ' The State and Prospects of Ireland,' * Communism,' 
' Italian Railroads,' ' The Influence of English Commercial 
Reform on Italy,' and * Model Farms.' These articles are 
instructive as they illustrate the bent of his mind and his 
aspirations. He condemned O'Connell's attempt to repeal 
the union, not because it was unjust, but because it was 
impossible. Communism and socialism, he showed, arose 
out of the conflict between the laws of property and the 
right of self-preservation. He maintained that ' the right 
of property, sacred and inviolable as it is within certain 
limits, is not an absolute and invincible principle.' The 
question of Italian railroads was a very burning one in 
1845-1846. Charles Albert had warmly espoused the 
proposed scheme of the Mont Cenis tunnel. Cavour 
indeed was only voicing the royal aims when he fore- 
shadowed a through connection from Paris to Naples, 
concluding with the words, ' The railroads will stretch 
without interruption from the Alps to Sicily, and will cause 
all the obstacles and distance to disappear, which separate 
the inhabitants of Italy, and hinder them from forming a 
great and single nation.' 

While the progress of material civiHsation was thus 
advancing the designs of those who were working for the 
freedom and unification of Italy, literature and art were 
doing their share. ' The shade of Dante, the poet of the 
regenerated nation, began to brood over the spirit and 
silence of the land.' Foscolo and Gabriel Rossetti drew all 
the reading world of Italy to their great sun. There were 
now, in fact, three distinct parties all working for the same 
end, but by different means. There was the party of 
which Cavour was at present merely an active member, 



CAVOUR 399 

but who later were proud to acknowledge his lead. This 
party aimed at advancing the Italian cause by the material 
methods of savings banks, agricultural societies, and rail- 
ways. They foresaw a severe struggle with Austria, and 
relied on the Sardinian army and foreign helpers, for as 
Cavour wrote, they considered that ' the emancipation of a 
people cannot now be the result of a plot or a surprise.' 
Then there was Mazzini's party, who relied on plot and 
surprise, and aimed at establishing a united and free Italy 
under a repubhcan form of government. Last of all there 
was the party of the Illuminati, who thought to unify 
Italy under a regenerated Papacy, through an enhghtened 
pope. 

The chief leaders of the Illuminati were Gioberti, the 
author of The Moral and Civil Primacy of the Italians, 
and Cesare Balbo, chief minister of Charles Albert. Their 
ideas seemed to be on the point of realisation when, 
in 1846, Pius IX. (Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti) was 
raised to the papal throne. Unfortunately the new 
pope's reputation for liberalism and ability did not bear 
the test of time. As he said, ' They want to make a 
Napoleon of me, who am only a poor country parson.' 
Still his first acts, an amnesty for political offenders, the 
creation of a Council of State to which laymen were eligible, 
the restoration to Rome of the municipality, and the 
erection of a Civil Guard, created enormous enthusiasm. 
This rose to white heat when he opposed the violation 
of Ferrara, which Austria occupied, in July 1847, on the 
pretext of quelhng a local disturbance. In a moment 
Italy seemed to throw off her sluggishness, and from one 
end to the other, in every state, men demanded a constitu- 
tion, while Italian exiles began to hurry home from all 
over the world, like Garibaldi from Montevideo. 

Meanwhile, in December 1847, Cavour and Cesare Balbo 
founded the Risorgimento, of which Cavour was the first 



400 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

editor. In the opening number he wrote : ' This journal will 
labour with all its power to create and promote the move- 
ment of our commercial resurrection. It will seek out all 
intelligence, which may be useful to commerce and to 
agriculture or manufacturing industry. It will endeavour 
to diffuse sound economical doctrines, combating all false 
ones, which owe their existence to ancient prejudices, or 
serve as a cloak for the promotion of private interests. . . . 
It will give its most active co-operation to the removal of 
all internal duties, so that the economical unity of Italy 
may be rendered possible ; but, on the other hand, it will 
recommend a continuous, though decidedly cautious, 
progress in the removal of all duties which are raised on 
foreign imports.' 

A few days after the establishment of the Risorgimento, 
Cavour leaped into prominence as one of the foremost 
advocates of a constitution. A meeting was summoned 
of the chief statesmen of the day, which included the 
Piedmontese ministers d'Azeglio and Santa Rossa, to send 
an address to Ferdinand, King of Naples, urging him to 
unite with Charles Albert and the pope in ' the policy of 
Providence, forgiveness, civilisation and Christian charity.' 
Cavour, to the surprise of all, opposed the address. * What 
is the use of these reforms,' he asked, ' which conclude 
nothing ? . . . Let us demand a constitution. . . . Let it 
be granted before it is too late : before social authority is 
dissolved and overthrown by the clamour of the multitude.' 
Unfortunately, both in the case of Naples and of Piedmont, 
Cavour's advice was unheeded, and a constitution was 
granted as the result of popular clamour instead of being a 
wise concession by the government. 

Cavour was a member of the commission appointed to 
draw up the new electoral laws. His intimate knowledge 
of the various constitutions of Europe made him at once an 
authority on the subject, and his propositions became the 



CAVOUR 401 

base of these laws. Universal suffrage he considered might 
be suitable in the matter of simple national questions. 
Indeed, later, he adopted the plebiscite on the question of 
the annexation of the Italian states. But for the election 
of deputies to the legislature he demanded three qualifica- 
tions : first, independence from bribery ; second, intelli- 
gence sufficient to choose a candidate ; and third, a stake 
in the promotion of social order. These were arrived 
at by establishing as qualifications the contribution of 
£4 annually in taxes, and the payment of a rental of 
;f24 and upwards, or the pursuit of a liberal trade or pro- 
fession. Voting by ballot, and a Senate nominated for life, 
also became the law of the land. Finally, he arranged for 
the admission of the public to the galleries of the parliament 
house, because ' there is no popular education so valuable 
to a free people as that of listening to the debates of its 
assembly. ' 

While Piedmont was busy with its new constitution, 
day by day war grew nearer. Austria as ever stood for 
despotism, and now Piedmont stood for freedom, and the 
two systems could not exist together. It was against 
Naples that Austria first turned her arms ; but at the 
moment she was preparing to launch her forces the news 
came of the outbreak of the Revolution in Paris. Within 
a week the standards of revolt were raised throughout 
Germany and in Vienna itself, whence Metternich had to 
flee to London. The people of Italy thought their hour 
had come. After five days' fighting the populace of Milan 
expelled the Austrian garrison. Venice flung herself free 
of her oppressors, the archduke fled from Parma, and, on 
March 23rd, Charles Albert declared war against Austria. 
' The hour of life or death has struck for the Sardinian 
monarchy,' so wrote Cavour in the Risorgimenfo, ' the 
hour of strong counsels, the hour on which depend the fate 
of empires and the destiny of nations. . . . There is but 

2C 



402 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

one path open for the nation, the country, and the king. 
War ! War at once and without delay.' 

The rising against Austria was at first everywhere suc- 
cessful ; and the Sardinian army, backed by volunteers from 
Venice, Milan, the papal states, and returned exiles from 
America and other countries, like Garibaldi, defeated the 
enemy at Goito and elsewhere. But Radetzky, the Austrian 
field-marshal, clung to the Quadrilateral — the armed base 
guarded by the fortresses of Mantua and Peschiera, on the 
Mincio, and of Verona and Legnago, on the Adige. At 
Custozza, on July 25th, he assumed the offensive and, defeat- 
ing the Sardinians, soon reoccupied Milan. The result was, 
no doubt, to a great extent due to the better military 
organisation of the Austrians, but it was due also, to a con- 
siderable extent, to the political and administrative chaos 
at Milan, where Mazzini with his republican ideas had 
opposed the incorporation of Lombardy in Piedmont : 
while the military reinforcements promised by Ferdinand 
of Naples, which might just have turned the scale, were 
purposely held back until too late. 

During these events Cavour remained at Turin, editing 
his paper and taking his share in the newly established 
parhament, which was occupied with the question of the 
incorporation of Lombardy. After the recapture of Milan 
he recognised that, for the moment, there was nothing 
for it but to make peace and await a more favourable 
opportunity for liberating Italy. The democratic party 
still believed that where the regular army had failed the 
volunteers might win. But Cavour saw clearly that Italy's 
sole hope was that her cause might be taken up in the 
diplomatic world by France or England ; so, in spite of the 
bitter hostility of the popular party, during the armistice 
which lasted from August 1848 to March 1849, he opposed 
the continuation of the war. He thus expressed his views 
on the situation : ' There is only one standard by which we 



CAVOUR 403 

can judge of the character of any pohcy whatever, and that 
is by its efficacy, by its power of producing the end in view. 
... In truth, what is it which has always ruined the 
noblest and most just of revolutions ? The mania for 
revolutionary methods — the men who fancied they could 
render themselves independent of the everyday laws of 
nations.' The result of this bold stand was that, at the 
elections in January, he lost his seat in parliament. 

The new elections returned an overwhelming majority 
for the democratic party. All over Italy except in Naples 
and the Austrian provinces the revolutionists were in the 
ascendant. The Grand Duke of Tuscany and the pope 
had fled to Gaeta, and at Rome Mazzini was organising 
a republic, and Garibaldi was commanding the troops. 
Gioberti, the new premier of Piedmont, an ex-monk, 
disliking the revolution as much as Cavour, desired to 
intervene on behalf of the grand duke and the pope, hoping 
thus to win their gratitude and form an Italian confedera- 
tion supported by the pope and the clergy. Cavour lent 
his weight to this scheme ; but the forces of revolution 
gained the day, Gioberti was succeeded as premier by 
Rattazzi: on March 13th, the armistice was denounced 
and the war resumed only to be ended ten days later by 
the defeat of the Sardinians at Novara. 

On the evening after the battle Charles Albert seeing, as 
he said, * that my person is now the sole obstacle to a 
peace which has become inevitable,' resigned his crown 
to his son Victor Emmanuel ii., the Re Galant'uomo. A 
new era opened. Under the circumstances the one aim 
of the Sardinian statesmen was to secure the independence 
of their country. This they managed to do at the cost of 
a large war indemnity, and the temporary occupation of 
Alessandria by the Austrians. Still, as Cavour said, * we 
existed, and every day's existence was a gain.' But it was 
not till the king had twice dissolved parliament that a 



404 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

majority was obtained to ratify the treaty. Cavour now 
regained his seat, sitting among the Moderate Liberals 
and becoming more and more a power in the land. Now 
that there was a constitution and reform was practicable, 
he had become an ardent reformer. ' Go on boldly then,' 
he said in March 1850, * in the path of reform. Don't 
hesitate because you are told that the time is inexpedient : 
don't fear lest you should weaken the constitutional 
monarchy entrusted to your charge. Instead of weakening 
it you will cause it to take such firm root in the country, 
that even if the storm of revolution should arise around 
us, the monarchy will not only not succumb to the on- 
slaught, but, collecting around it all the real forces of Italy, 
will lead our nation to the lofty destiny prepared for her.' 
Soon after this speech the Siccardi Laws were passed which 
abolished ecclesiastical courts and all their special jurisdic- 
tions. Though brought in by Siccardi they were really 
drafted and proposed by Cavour. They included the 
prevention of lay or ecclesiastical corporations from 
acquiring property without the consent of the government, 
and established the regulation of marriage as a civil 
contract. Cavour had a twofold object in desiring to open 
this most debatable subject. First, he wanted to carr\'' 
out a reform which appealed to his deepest conviction ; and, 
secondly, to see how far his associates of the Left Centre, 
that is the moderate Liberals, would obey his leadership. 

In the autumn following the passing of these laws on the 
' Foro Ecclesiastico,' Santa Rossa, the Minister of Agri- 
culture, died, and public opinion at once fixed on Cavour as 
his successor. D'Azeglio proposed his name to the king, 
who remarked, ' I have no objection, but mark my words, 
the man will turn every one of you out before long. ' Victor 
Emmanuel's prophecy soon came true. Day by day Cavour 
gradualty usurped all the functions of the other ministers, 
and quickly became in all but name the government. 



CAVOUR 405 

A year later, in November 1851, on the retirement of Nigra, 
he added the title of Minister of Finance to that of Agri- 
culture and Commerce. In face of the bitter opposition 
of the clerical party, he leant more and more on the Left. 
In December 1851, came Napoleon's coup d'etat, and the 
clericals and reactionaries thought their time had arrived : 
but Cavour and d'Azeglio saw they had nothing to fear 
from a Bonaparte, because of necessity he was opposed to 
the dynastic system established, in 1815, by the Congress of 
Vienna. The result, however, of Cavour's dependence on 
the Left was that, in May 1852, the ministry resigned, and 
d'Azeglio formed a new ministry without him. Thereon 
the count seized the opportunity to visit Paris, where he 
had several interviews with Louis Napoleon, who, as 
president of the assembly, was on the eve of carrying out 
the coup d'etat which established the second empire. 

Meanwhile at home d'Azeglio was in vain attempting 
to arrive at a compromise with the pope. The ministry, 
finding themselves unable to carry out their plans, resigned ; 
and the king, after trying one or two expedients, was forced 
to send for Cavour, who, for the next nine years, with a few 
short intervals, was sole premier of Piedmont. 

As prime minister Cavour's ultimate object was the 
unification of Italy by the gradual absorption of the 
other states. Piedmont was to be made so materially 
and politically predominant, that she should attract to 
herself the other states of the peninsula. To effect this, it 
was necessary that she should exceed all the other states 
in political, social and commercial progress, and that she 
should be recognised by the powers as one of themselves. 
Cavour accordingly spent large sums on equipping the army 
and navy, in reconstructing fortresses and building ships : 
he promoted the railway system of Piedmont, subsidised 
lines of steamers between Genoa and South America, 
established co-operative societies, agrarian banks, and 



4o6 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

cheapened the necessaries of Hfe and raw material. To 
find the money for these schemes, he abohshed nearly all 
protective duties and established in their place direct taxes, 
which he supplemented by heavy loans. His policy, in 
his own words, was : ' In order to restore the equilibrium of 
our finances, we have dehberately resolved not to restrict 
our expenditure, and by so doing renounce every idea of 
improvement and every great enterprise . . . but rather 
to effect our ends by developing the elements of progress 
our state possesses, and by stimulating in every portion 
of our country all the industrial and economical activity 
of which it is found capable.' A dangerous policy no doubt 
in the hands of an adventurer, but one that was eminently 
successful as manipulated by a man who never aimed at 
the ideal but only at the practical. Finally, in the face of 
bitter opposition, he passed the Legge Rattazziane, whereby 
the income of the bishops and wealthy clergy was reduced, 
a number of useless convents abolished : the money thus 
obtained, supplemented by a subvention of a million francs 
per annum from the state, was used to increase the salaries 
of the lower clergy. 

In foreign politics, Cavour worked unceasingly to 
strengthen Piedmont's position for the struggle against 
Austria which he knew was inevitable. One of his first 
acts was to break off diplomatic relations between Turin 
and Vienna, on the occasion of the Austrian government 
confiscating the Lombard estates of all Piedmontese 
subjects. Next, on the outbreak of the Crimean war, he 
offered the help of Sardinia to the western powers. His 
object in so doing was twofold : first, to checkmate 
Austria, who, on December 2nd, 1854, had promised under 
certain circumstances to take active part against Russia. 
For Cavour saw that if this happened, and Russia was 
crushed, all hope for Italy would disappear; for on the 
conclusion of the war the destiny of Europe would be 



CAVOUR 407 

settled by a congress, in which Austria would be all-power- 
ful. The very just comment of an Austrian minister on 
Cavour's action was, ' C'est un coup de pistolet tire a bout 
portant aux oreilles de VAutriche.' His second reason for 
joining the allies was to wipe off the moral effects of the 
defeats of Custozza and Novara, and to prove to the world 
that Italians were not merely conspirators, * It is my 
belief,' he said, * that the principal, nay the vital, condition 
for the amelioration of Italy's position is to re-establish her 
reputation, to cause aU the nations of the world, govern- 
ments as well as peoples, to render justice to her great 
qualities. To attain this object two things are needful : 
first, to prove to Europe that Italy has civil training enough 
to govern herself regularly, to rule herself with freedom, 
and to support the most perfect form of government that 
has yet been discovered ; and, secondly, to show that her 
military valour is equal to that of her ancestors.' This last 
fact La Marmora and his twenty-five thousand Sardinian 
soldiers proved on the field of Tchernaya. 

Cavour's bold policy had its reward ; during a visit to 
Paris, in 1855, Napoleon said to him, 'Que peut-on faire pour 
Vltalie ? ' In the following year Cavour himself represented 
Italy at the Congress of Paris, and had his opportunity, 
before the congress rose, of calling attention to the state of 
Italy ; and well he might, for persecution and torture had 
reached such a pitch in Naples under Ferdinand ii., the 
notorious Bomba, that Gladstone said the government 
was ' a negation of God.' In the provinces subject to 
Austria matters were little better. The congress did 
nothing, but Cavour had raised a solemn warning that the 
government of Sardinia * disturbed within by the action of 
revolutionary passions, and excited without by a system 
of violent repression and foreign occupations, and 
threatened by the extension of Austrian power, might at 
any moment be forced by an inevitable necessity to adopt 



4o8 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

extreme measures, of which it is impossible to foresee the 
consequences.' 

The years 1857-1858 were years of great commercial 
prosperity and industrial progress, and, by 1858, it seemed 
as if it might be possible to effect an equilibrium between 
the receipts and expenditure. Meanwhile, Cavour was draw- 
ing Piedmont closer and closer to France, with the deliberate 
intention of forcing on a war with Austria. For a moment 
the murderous attack of the Italian Orsini on Napoleon 
seemed to shake the alliance ; but, in June 1858, the French 
emperor invited Cavour to meet him at Plombieres. 
There, under the trees, three points were settled : first, war 
with Austria ; second, the marriage of the Princess Clotilde, 
eldest daughter of Victor Emmanuel, and Prince Napoleon ; 
and third, the cession of Nice and Savoy to France. 
Cavour's plan was to isolate Austria, by forcing on her the 
odium of declaring war : but Napoleon very nearly spoiled 
it by his rude reception of the Austrian ambassador, on 
New Year's Day 1859. However, Cavour managed at 
one and the same time to curb the revolutionary spirit in 
Italy, and to obtain the assent of the chambers to a war 
loan. Meanwhile, volunteers were pouring into Piedmont 
from all over Italy ; a division of them was entrusted to 
Garibaldi, whose exploits in Montevideo had been surpassed 
by his wonderful escape from Rome, in 1849. On April 
27th, Austria launched her ultimatum demanding the im- 
mediate disarmament of the Sardinian forces. Three days 
later they were marching to the frontier with the king at 
their head. ' It is done,' said Cavour to his friends. 
* Alea jada est. We have made some history and now to 
dinner.' 

In the short campaign which followed, the French and 
Sardinians beat the Austrians at Magenta, on June 4th, and 
at Solferino and San Martino, on the 24th. Meanwhile, 
Tuscany, Parma, Modena and Bologna rose in obedience 



CAVOUR 409 

to the instructions of the National Society, and offered 
the dictatorship to Victor Emmanuel. Cavour at once sent 
royal commissioners to administer these provinces during 
the war. Ferrara, the Romagna, the Marches and Umbria 
also rose, only to be overawed by the papal troops. But 
suddenly the situation changed. Napoleon thought he 
had done enough, and did not care to risk a rebuff by 
attacking the Quadrilateral : meanwhile, he knew that 
Prussia and Austria were urging Germany to arm to resist 
French aggression. Accordingly, without consulting Victor 
Emmanuel, on July 6th, he entered into negotiations with 
the enemy, which ended two days later in the armistice of 
Villafranca. The news of the suspension of hostilities, for 
the moment, almost drove Cavour off his mental balance, 
and after offering the king the wildest of advice he resigned. 
However, the last counsel he gave to his sovereign was to 
accept the peace, as far as accomplished facts were con- 
cerned, but not to pledge himself to anything beyond that. 
After a congress held at Zurich, a treaty was signed, in 
November, whereby Austria ceded Lombardy to Sardinia, 
but retained the Quadrilateral and Venice. Their former 
rulers were to be restored to Tuscany, Parma, Modena and 
the Legations ; but no mention was made as to how the 
restoration was to be effected, for Napoleon refused to hear 
of armed intervention, and the revolted provinces insisted 
on union with Piedmont. Hence it was that after returning 
from Switzerland, * the sanatorium of wounded politicians, ' 
to his family estate at Leri, Cavour was able to write to 
Prince Jerome Napoleon, * How often have I, in this 
solitude of Leri, felt thankful for the peace of Villafranca.' 
But the French emperor demanded his pound of flesh ; 
and he told Rattazzi, who had succeeded Cavour, that the 
price he required, for allowing the provinces to be incor- 
porated in the Sardinian realm, was the cession of Nice 
and Savoy. The demand appalled Rattazzi, who resigned, 



410 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

and, on January 23rd, i860 Cavour once again became 
premier. By a plebiscite taken on March nth and 12th, 
the duchies unanimously decided on union, and a week 
later Victor Emmanuel signed the decree. But a few 
days afterwards, on March 24th, Cavour was obliged to 
put his name to the Treaty of Turin, ceding Nice and 
Savoy to France, remarking as he did so to the French 
plenipotentiary, ' Now we are fellow criminals.' 

Cavour was strong enough to weather the storm which 
followed the publication of the treaty. Savoy, indeed, 
had always been more French than Italian, and even in 
Nice a large part of the population was French. The 
meeting, on April 3rd, of the first parliament composed of 
deputies from Piedmont, Tuscany, Liguria, Lombardy, 
Romagna, and the duchies, and the outbreak two days 
later of the revolution in Sicily, turned public attention to 
other matters. Of the Sicilian revolution Cavour thought 
little, and it would probably have soon died out, in spite 
of the obstinate attitude of the young king, Francis 11., 
Bomba's successor, had not Garibaldi suddenly left his 
retreat at Caprera with the expressed intention of com- 
pleting the unity of Italy. Cavour said at the time that 
' this was not one of the most difficult but the most difficult 
conjuncture in which he had ever been placed.' In the 
state of public opinion it was almost impossible to stop 
Garibaldi and his 'Thousand' who sailed for Sicily, on 
May 5th, with the watchword 'Italy and Victor Emmanuel.' 
Cavour knew well that the originators of the expedition 
were really Mazzini and the republicans ; he also knew that 
in the long run the kingdom of Naples was bound to fall 
into hne with the rest of Italy. But he was in no great 
hurry for this event, for he understood the differences 
which divided the men of the north from the men of the 
south : he desired time to complete the incorporation of the 
new union, before adding to the present difficulties by 



CAVOUR 411 

having to assimilate the Neapolitans. Further, he knew 
that Garibaldi was furious with him for consenting to the 
cession of Savoy and Nice : for Garibaldi was born at Nice. 
To add to these difficulties the king of Naples, seeing his 
danger, granted a constitution, and proposed an offensive 
and defensive alliance with Piedmont. 

The best illustration of Cavour's attitude to the Sicihan 
expedition is his instructions to Admiral Persano, who 
commanded the Sardinian fleet : * Try to navigate between 
Garibaldi and the Neapolitan cruisers. I hope you under- 
stand me.' To which the admiral replied: *I believe I 
understand you ; if I am mistaken, you can send me to 
prison.' By August 22nd, Garibaldi, thanks to the screen 
of Sardinian warships, was able to cross from Sicily, which 
he had conquered, to the mainland ; a fortnight later he 
entered Naples, whence Francis 11. had fled. Lightning- 
like rapidity was the essence of Garibaldi's success. The 
great free-lance relied on audacity and heroism, blended 
with craft and good luck. But he had also to thank the 
Bourbons, for by their cruelty and ineptitude they had 
reduced their country to a state of disintegration and 
rottenness. 

Garibaldi's success, however, did not hghten Cavour's 
difficulties. Garibaldi was proclaimed dictator at Naples, 
whither Mazzini had hurried, urging him to advance on 
Rome. Meanwhile, the Mazzinians were clamouring against 
the proposed union of Naples and Sicily with Piedmont ; 
Francis 11., hoping that foreign help might arrive, was 
proposing negotiations; while at Rome, Pius ix. was in 
favour of a crusade on the part of the legitimists against 
France. Cavour now saw that the time had come to 
strike. ' Italy must be saved from foreigners, evil principles, 
and — madmen.' With Napoleon's message, ' Make haste 
and good luck,' ringing in his ears he set the army in 
motion in September. After crushing the papal troops at 



412 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

Castelfidardo, the Sardinians pushed on, with their king, 
through the papal states, and arrived on the Volturno, on 
October 13th, the day after Garibaldi had come into 
contact with the troops of Francis outside Gaeta. The 
situation had indeed been critical, for if Garibaldi had 
entered Rome he would have been opposed by the French 
garrison, and Napoleon would have been obliged to intervene 
to conciliate the clerical party. Further, it was certain 
that, once at Rome, the republican party would prevail on 
Garibaldi to proclaim a republic, which he w^ould have 
done : for his hatred of Cavour was so great that he had 
already written to Victor Emmanuel offering him the 
immediate annexation of southern Italy if he would dismiss 
Cavour from office. Hence it was that Cavour wrote to 
the Italian ambassador, ' If we do not arrive on the Volturno 
before Garibaldi arrives at La Cattolica, the monarchy is 
lost. Italy will remain a prey to revolution.' 

When Victor Emmanuel and his army appeared in 
Naples, Garibaldi at once recognised his authority. By 
Cavour's advice the question of annexation was decided 
by the popular assemblies of Naples and Sicily, and in 
both cases the party who desired annexation triumphed. 
On October 25th, Garibaldi met his sovereign at Caianello, 
and hailed him as King of Italy. A week later the Marches 
and Umbria gave their unanimous vote in favour of 
annexation. So except for Rome and Venice all Italy was 
now united. The question of Venice could only be settled 
by another war with Austria, which depended necessarily on 
European politics ; but the question of Rome was the more 
pressing. It was clear that the prestige of the Sardinian 
monarchy would depend on its ability to extinguish the 
temporal power of the Papacy, and to make Rome the 
capital of Italy. To prove to Italians that it was not only 
the party of Garibaldi and Mazzini who desired the re- 
covery of Rome, Cavour made his famous speech, on 



CAVOUR 413 

October 12th, i860, in which he stated that hke others he 
desired to make Rome ' the magnificent capital of the new 
ItaHan kingdom.' 

As regards the question of the spiritual jurisdiction of 
the Papacy, Cavour summed up his policy in the words, 
' a free church in a free state ' (libera chiesa in libera stato). 
As he said, ' In my opinion, then, the independence and 
dignity of the sovereign pontiff, as well as the independence 
of the Church, would be protected by the separation of the 
temporal and spiritual authority, by the application of the 
principle of liberty to the relations of civil and religious 
society.' Cavour at once tried to enter into negotiations 
with the Papacy on this basis, but he soon found to his 
cost that the Curia would not break with the past ; and all 
who took part in the attempt, great and small, were 
banished from Rome. Thereon he turned his attention 
to the problem of inducing the French to evacuate Rome. 
While still busy with these negotiations, and striving to 
solve the difficulty of the settlement of Sicily without 
interference with the law — * Anybody,' he used to say, 
' can govern with a state of siege ' — the news arrived that 
Garibaldi was leaving Caprera to demand from him an 
account of his stewardship. On April i6th, the great free- 
lance took his seat in parliament, and at once opened a 
bitter attack on his enemy, on the charge that his expedi- 
tion to the Marches and Umbria was an attempt to stir 
up civil war. For the moment Cavour's self-control broke 
down, but his passion was of short duration, and he ended 
by saying, ' I knew that between me and the honourable 
General Garibaldi their exists a fact which divides us like 
an abyss. I believe that I fulfilled a painful duty — the 
most painful I ever accomplished in my life — in counselling 
the king and proposing to parliament the cession of Savoy 
and Nice to France. By the grief that I then experienced 
I can understand that which the honourable General 



414 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

Garibaldi must have felt, and if he cannot forgive me this 
act, I will not bear him any grudge for it.' 

The king induced Garibaldi to consent to an apparent 
reconciliation: but Cavour had received his death-blow. 
Following on the fatigues and long-continued strain of the 
last year, the shock of Garibaldi's attack had shattered 
his nerve centre, and his constitution had lost its power 
of resistance. At the end of May, he was attacked by a 
fever, from which he never rallied. A day or two before 
his death he sent for his friend Fra Giacomo, who at the 
time of the passing of the Siccardi Laws had promised in 
spite of whatever the Church might say to give him the 
last sacrament. ' Let us say a prayer for you, my son,' 
said the old priest. * Yes, father,' said the dying states- 
man, ' but let us pray, too, for Italy.' 

For some months Cavour had foreseen his end. ' I 
must make haste to finish my work as soon as possible,' 
he said to a friend. ' I feel that this miserable body of mine 
is giving way beneath the mind and will, which still urge 
it on.' But though he did not live long enough to see 
the completion — the annexation of Venice, after the war 
of 1866, or the occupation of Rome, in 1870, during the 
Franco-Prussian war — these events were the outcome of 
his life's work, and without him they would have been 
impossible. It is certain that if it had not been for Cavour's 
steady statesmanship, by which Sardinia was made the sure 
foundation on which the kingdom of Italy was built up 
bit by bit, the fate of the Italian peninsula would have been 
the fate of Poland — a country without a name. 

Cavour was a genuine Piedmontese at heart, and in spite 
of his political enmities was beloved by the populace, 
who fondly called him * Papa Camillo.' To the end of his 
life, in spite of his success, he remained a simple, unaffected 
gentleman, whose greatest delight was to put aside the 
cares of office, and steal off to the country to inspect his 



CAVOUR 415 

estates at Leri. On his person he bestowed no attention ; 
when one suit was worn out he ordered another of the same 
cut, colour and cloth. One of his acquaintances thus 
describes him : * The squat — and I know no better term — 
pot-bellied form ; the small, stumpy legs ; the short round 
arms, with hands stuck constantly in the trousers' pockets ; 
the thick neck, in which you could see the veins swelling ; 
the scant, thin hair ; the blurred, blotched face ; and the 
sharp grey eyes covered by the goggle spectacles — these 
things must be known to all who have cared enough about 
Italy to examine the likeness of her greatest statesman. 
The dress itself seemed a part and property of the man. 
The snuff-coloured tailcoat ; the grey, worn and wrinkled 
trousers ; the black silk double tie, seeming, loose as it 
was, a world too tight for the swollen neck it was fastened 
around ; the crumpled shirt ; the brown satin single- 
breasted waistcoat, half unbuttoned, as though the wearer 
wanted breath, with a short massive gold chain hanging 
down in front, seemed to be in fitness with that quaint, 
world-known figure.' 

Such Cavour appeared to the outward eye. Inwardly 
as a man he was the soul of honour, ready to sacrifice his 
comforts, his money, his home, and his life on behalf of 
his country. In his younger days at a meeting of the 
Political Economical Society of Paris, Leon Faucher 
laughingly said to him : ' Ah, count, those plans of yours 
are of the kind men concert at the minister's door, and 
throw carefully out of the window as soon as they get 
inside.' Cavour replied almost angrily: 'That may be 
your policy, sir, but, for my part, I give my word of 
honour, if ever I rise to power, I will carry out my ideas 
or relinquish my office.' The most casual reader must 
confess that what Cavour promised that he performed. 
During the years 1840-1848 the count entered largely 
into speculations in railways, steam-mills, and other Indus- 



4i6 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

trial concerns, which did much to improve the economic 
condition of the country, and brought him in a large 
return. But when, in 1854, he became Finance Minister, 
he sold all his shares at a considerable loss, because he 
considered that a minister ought not to be liable to the 
suspicion even of promoting his private interests. 

As a statesman Cavour stands as the exponent of the 
school of practical politics. He had the great gift of 
comprehending hard facts and making logical conclusions. 
Foresight and moderation were the pillars of his success. 
In the material world he grasped the fact that a prosperous 
state tends to become a liberal state. Therefore he set 
himself to study economics and to promote industrial 
expansion, knowing that the result would be social ameliora- 
tion, and that in its turn the higher standard of comfort 
would react on the political situation. He rightly saw that 
conspiracies are a sign of weakness ; cloudy theories he 
abhorred ; democratic ideals he distrusted, for he was 
essentially a conservative by nature ; but, while he recog- 
nised the value of institutions, in the hour of revolution 
he could see nothing in empty forms. Hence it was that 
he was able to adapt to the use of the monarchy all the 
enthusiasm which Mazzini had inspired into the party of 
* Young Italy,' and to avail himself of the ardour and 
courage of Garibaldi. 

Nothing is more remarkable than his foresight and 
grasp of European politics. By November 1848, as an 
argument for making peace with Austria, we find him 
using these words : ' Let us wait a short time and we shall 
see, as a fruit of the revolutionary measures, Louis Napoleon 
upon the throne of France.' That he should foresee the 
empire three years before its birth may not seem so re- 
markable ; but that, contrary to all the opinions of the 
day, he should discern in Napoleon the friend and liberator 
of Italy is a great tribute to his political sagacity. 



CAVOUR 417 

As the founder of the modern parliamentary system 
in Italy, Cavour, as we have seen, borrowed largely from 
England ; and, thanks to his study of continental govern- 
ments and also to his personal character, he was able to 
play the part of a constitutional minister while really 
wielding, with the concurrence of his colleagues and the 
nation, all the powers of a dictator. His native insight into 
character enabled him to catch the drift of popular feeling, 
and he never hesitated to use any party if he thought it 
was for the good of the state. As one of his admirers wrote, 
' Fanaticism or industry, authority or enthusiasm, craft or 
heroism, are instruments which he employs and controls.' 
In the Cabinet his personality triumphed over all jealousy 
and selfishness, while in the House he ever relied upon logic, 
not on rhetoric, and compelled men to his side by his 
inherent energy. 

Mr. Frederic Harrison's appreciation of him, written 
shortly before his death, is scarcely too eulogistic : — ' His 
state papers would be models of art, if they were not 
standards of historic fact. With all his intuition and love 
of order and law, he sees that these are not ends but means. 
In a crisis he can rise superior to any action but that of 
public safety and duty. To habitual industry in pre- 
paration he unites an impetuous rapidity of execution, and 
however careful in husbanding his resources he is prodigal 
of them in action. His most daring schemes are all within 
the limits of reasonable safety : if he oversteps legality 
he remains true to right. ... He shows us how power 
can be gathered in one hand, yet be but the expression 
of national will. Nor less is he an instance of a statesman 
who conserves whilst he changes, who conciliates order and 
movement, tradition and expansion, the past and present ; 
who innovates without convulsion and modifies without 
destruction. Thus he is to us the type of the real popular 
dictator, and the statesman of true conservative progress.' 

2D 



4i8 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

Yet while we grant all these great qualities to Cavour, 
we must remember that it was thanks to the striking 
qualities of Victor Emmanuel, to his loyalty to his minister, 
and to his courage at every crisis, that Cavour was granted 
the opportunity of leading Italy along the path of unity. 
Without Victor Emmanuel there could have been no 
Cavour, and Italy would have had to pass through long 
years of misery and revolution before she emerged a united 
and independent nation. 



BISMARCK 

The story of the union of Germany runs parallel with that 
of the unification of Italy. The overthrow of Napoleon 
was mainly due to the strong wave of national feeling 
which swept over Germany after the failure of his Moscow 
campaign. But no sooner was the War of Liberation 
brought to a successful close than a period of reaction set 
in. There were many causes which contributed to this 
result. The peasants were busily engaged restoring their 
ruined homesteads ; the middle classes were entirely 
occupied in commercial and manufacturing regeneration ; 
while the statesmen were fully engaged, in some cases, in 
restoring the old governments, in others, in organising the 
new provinces allotted to them by the Congress of Vienna. 
But the main reason for the lack of progress during the 
twenty-five years following the war, was the excessive 
number of questions which had to be dealt with. ' Germany 
at one and the same moment was confronted with nearly 
all the problems which in England took ten centuries 
to solve — the relics of feudalism, the relation between 
the executive and the legislature, and between Church and 
state, and the strength of centrifugal forces.' 

To fill the void occasioned by the dissolution of the 
Holy Roman Empire, in 1806, the Congress of Vienna 
called into existence a new German confederation. It 
differed greatly from the old in that only thirty-nine states 
remained out of three hundred sovereign states which had 
composed the old empire. The knights (Reichsritter) had 

419 



420 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

disappeared, only four free cities — Frankfort, Liibeck, 
Hamburg and Bremen — remained ; the ecclesiastical 
states had been wiped out by the Treaty of Campo Formio 
(1800). Austria had become a Slavonic and Italian power ; 
she had sacrificed her position in Germany to her European 
ambition. Prussia was now the greatest purely German 
power : but she was extremely unpopular, as her expansion 
had been gained at the expense of other German states. 
The South German states of Bavaria, Wiirtemberg and 
Baden regarded both Austria and Prussia with fear : in 
these states liberalism found its support more in the dislike 
of military monarchies than in constitutional enthusiasm. 
By the Federal Act of the Congress of Vienna a diet 
(Bundestag) was set up in permanent session at Frankfort, 
in which every sovereign state was represented. In the 
General Assembly (Plenum) of the diet, Austria, Prussia, 
Saxony, Bavaria, Hanover and Wiirtemberg had four 
representatives each ; Baden, Electoral Hesse, Grand Ducal 
Hesse, Holstein and Luxemburg had three each ; Bruns- 
wick, Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Nassau two each ; and 
the other states one a piece, making a total of sixty-nine. 
In the ordinary assembly (Engere Versammlung) , where 
measures were arranged for discussion in the Plenum, there 
were seventeen delegates, each of the eleven largest states 
having one and the other six being divided up between the 
smaller states. 

The object of the confederation was ' to guarantee the 
external and internal peace of Germany, and the independ- 
ence and inviolability of the confederate states.' Not only 
Germany as a whole, but each individual state was to be 
defended in case of attack, except that the non-German 
possessions of Austria and Prussia were excluded. The 
confederates, as a necessary corollary, bound themselves 
not to make war on each other, but to submit their differ- 
ences to a court of arbitration (Austragalordnung) . The 



BISMARCK 421 

first business of the diet was to arrange the fundamental 
laws of the union, to fix organic institutions for its internal 
and mihtary organisation, and to regulate the trade rela- 
tions between the states. The weakness of the diet was 
manifested in the very early days of its sittings. First of 
all the president ruled that the Federal Act itself could not 
be altered — * the act was like the Bible ; they might ex- 
pound it, but they could not change it ; it was fundamental 
law. ' Secondly, the act itself declared that in all questions 
of ' fundamental law, organic institutions, individual right, 
or religious affairs,' a majority should not suffice ; in a 
word, there must be unanimity ; it was the case of the 
' liberum veto ' as in the old Polish constitution. Events 
soon proved that Gorres' description of the diet was true — 
' a central power which does not rule, but is ruled by its 
separate parts ; an executive wholly destitute of authority, 
which cannot provide against the refractory, and is not in a 
condition to execute anything whatever because it can never 
obtain the requisite unanimity ; a legislature which will 
never investigate its own competence ; a judiciary which no 
one is bound to obey ; an assembly which ever seeks but 
never finds authority for its acts in an interminable weaving 
of diplomacy.' 

The main cause, in fact, of the failure of the diet la}'^ in 
' particularism ' ; that is, in the desire of each state to 
retain its sovereign power uncontrolled. We find this 
clearly exemplified when, after the outbreak of revolution- 
ary agitation at Weimar at the Wartburg festival (October 
1817), and the assassination of the poet Kotzebue (March 
1819), Metternich had no difficulty in getting the diet to 
accept and put into operation the famous Carlsbad decrees, 
whereb}^ the press and the universities were muzzled. 
Practically every sovereign in Germany preferred absolute 
to constitutional rule. They looked with apprehension on 
the growing spirit of democracy which was appearing in 



422 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

the universities, where the Burschenschaften, or students' 
organisations, were full of revolutionary enthusiasm ; and 
in the towns, where the workmen were showing signs of 
discontent. They accordingly gladly told their represen- 
tatives at the diet to accept and to put into operation the 
new repressive measures, and they made up in individual 
zeal for the defects of the Federal Court. 

As the years went on Metternich, who saw that the 
stability of Austria could only be assured by the main- 
tenance of absolutism, became more and more the controller 
of European politics. His domination reached its head 
when, in 1832, the Treaty of Berlin was signed by Russia, 
Austria and Prussia, whereby these powers recognised 
* the right of any independent sovereign to summon to his 
assistance, whether in the internal or external difficulties 
of his country, any other independent sovereign whom he 
shall decree best able to assist him, and the right of the 
latter to grant or refuse such assistance according to his 
interest or resources.' 

Prussia during this period was governed by the well- 
intentioned but weak-spirited Frederic William iii., who 
oscillated between the desire to keep his word and grant 
his subjects a constitution, and his terror at each manifesta- 
tion of revolutionary spirit in Europe. Completely under 
the domination of Metternich, he gradually withdrew all 
the liberal concessions he had granted, with the result that, 
as the Russian minister wrote, * Since Prussia has ceased to 
be the point d'appui on which the balance of German 
liberties rest, and since this has been transferred to the 
states of the second order (Baden, Wiirtemberg and 
Bavaria), Austria's supremacy has become a realised fact.' 
But although, during this period, Prussia lost her political 
lead, she was unconsciously building up the foundations 
on which the future union of Germany was to be erected. 

Since the diet was unable to arrange for the internal 



BISMARCK 423 

commerce of Germany, Prussia was forced to enter on a 
system of separate arrangements with the other German 
states. By the Treaty of Vienna she had been granted the 
old ecclesiastical states on the Rhine. Owing to this addi- 
tion to her already extended territories, and because of the 
intervention of other states between her various provinces, 
it was impossible for her custom-house officers to guard 
her long and broken frontiers. Consequently, to weld 
together the various provinces of which her monarchy was 
composed, and also on account of the smuggling which she 
was unable to prevent, some form of free trade within her 
dominions was absolutely necessary. The Finance Minister, 
Von Maassen, accordingly drew up a tariff so low that 
smuggling was unprofitable. But while trade within the 
limits of Prussia was free, heavy transit duties were im- 
posed on all goods passing through Prussian territory. 
Von Maassen foresaw that, since Prussia commanded the 
main trade routes of central Germany, this scheme would 
force the smaller states to attach themselves to the Prussian 
customs system. At first there was a great outcry from the 
small Thuringian states, which were entirely surrounded by 
Prussian territory. But as the diet was unable to inter- 
fere, one by one these little states were glad to accept the 
generous terms offered by Prussia. Hence arose the famous 
Prussian Zollverein, the nucleus of which was formed, 
on October 25th, 1819, when Schwarzburg-Sonderhausen 
signed a tariff convention with Prussia. 

A month after Napoleon had escaped from Elba, on 
April ist, 18 15, Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck was 
born at Schonhausen, in the Mark of Brandenburg. 
His father belonged to a family which for centuries had 
held its head high among the sturdy nobility by whose 
swords the house of HohenzoUern had fought its way to 
the kingship of Prussia. His grandfather, ' a fine fellow ' 
{ein ganzer Kerl), had fallen at Chotusitz under Frederic 



424 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

the Great. Otto's father had retired at an early age from the 
army, and settled down to the hfe of a country gentleman. 
But he had taken one step which differentiated him from 
his friends and relatives, for instead of seeking his bride 
among the landowners of his own rank, he married a 
Fraulein Mencken, a daughter of a Professor of Leipzig 
University, who had risen to be a Cabinet Secretary under 
Frederic William ii. and Frederic William iii. Thus through 
his parents Bismarck was connected with the two found-a- 
tions on which the state of Prussia had been built — the 
fighting nobility and the scholarly officials. 

A year after Otto's birth the Bismarcks removed from 
Schonhausen to Pomerania, where they settled on their 
estates at Kniephof and Kulz, among the Pomeranian 
nobility, who had never been further away from their 
homes than Berlin, save on the occasion when they had 
ridden into Paris as conquerors, in 1814 and 1815. The 
young Otto was accordingly brought up amid a society 
whose two occupations were farming and hunting, which re- 
tained the simple faith of German Protestantism, untouched 
by the rationalism of the eighteenth century or the hberal- 
ism of the nineteenth. The nobles of Pomerania regarded 
the king as chief bishop of the Church, criticism of or 
opposition to whom was as sacrilege. They considered the 
words ' by the grace of God ' in the royal title as no mere 
empty phrase. To these simple folk and their peasant 
retainers Society still presented its patriarchal form. At 
the head Herr Gott in heaven ; at Berlin the allergnadigster 
Herr, the king ; at home the gnadiger Herr, the noble ; and 
lastly the peasant, his very humble servant. 

At the age of six the young Otto was sent to school at 
Berlin, where he speedily developed that dislike for cities 
which clung to him all his life. After going through the 
Gymnasium, where he received a sound classical education, 
at the age of seventeen he passed the Abiturienten examina- 



BISMARCK 425 

tion, which admitted him to the universit^^ and entitled 
him to serve for one year instead of three in the army. 
A year later he entered the University of Gottingen in 
Hanover, where he soon became famous for his capacity 
for drinking beer and for fighting. Report says that he 
engaged in no less than twenty-six students' duels, only once 
being wounded. After a year at Gottingen, he entered the 
university at Berlin with a reputation for great physical 
strength, for fearless riding, for proficiency in swimming and 
running, and for being a frank, cheerful, agreeable com- 
panion. His retentive memory and quick understanding 
had enabled him to acquire a considerable knowledge of 
language, law, literature and history, but the Hegelian 
philosophy of the day had no attraction for his mind. In 
a word he cared more for principles of belief and the conduct 
of life than for the analysis of intellect : his tastes were 
those of a man of the world, not of a student. The uni- 
versity records state that ' Studiosus von Bismarck ' left 
Gottingen for Berlin with a sentence of seven days' im- 
prisonment to be worked off at his new university — four 
days for having taken part in an ' illegal organisation,' 
three days for being present at a duel. 

At Berhn he shared a room with the American Motley, 
the future author of The Dutch Republic, with whom he 
maintained a life-long friendship. He left the university, 
after taking the degree of Doctor of Laws, in 1835, with 
the intention of entering the diplomatic service. After a 
year spent as auscultator, or official reporter, to one of the 
Berlin tribunals, at his own request he was transferred to 
the administrative side at Aix-la-Chapelle. About this 
time the Prince of Prussia, the future Emperor William, 
met him for the first time at a court ball, and, remarking 
on his magnificent stature and physique, exclaimed, 
' Justice seems to cull her young recruits according to the 
standard of the Guards.' 



426 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

At Aix-la-Chapelle Bismarck threw himself into the 
cosmopohtan society that gathered there, and during the 
intervals of his work made excursions to Belgium and the 
Rhine, with occasional hunting expeditions to the Ardennes. 
In June 1837, he was granted leave of absence on the score 
of ill health, and, after a tour in Switzerland, applied to 
be transferred to the Crown Ofhce at Potsdam. In 1838, 
he did his year's military service with the Jager or Rifle 
Corps of the Guards. On January ist, 1839, his mother 
died, and his father decided to return to Schonhausen, and 
entrust the management of his Pomeranian estates to his 
two sons. When Bismarck and his brother took over 
these estates they found them in a bad way. But the 
brothers proved excellent men of business, and soon put 
them on a sound footing. During the eight years Bismarck 
spent ' out in the wilderness ' he pursued a country life, 
varying farming with hunting, studying, soldiering, and 
acting as local deputy and magistrate ; maintaining his 
college reputation as a hard drinker, for he mixed cham- 
pagne and beer, and finding time occasionally for foreign 
travel : he was generally regarded by his neighbours as 
' the mad Bismarck.' On one occasion during these years 
he visited England, dining with Prince Albert's Hussars at 
York, inspecting the cotton manufactories at Manchester, 
and returning via Portsmouth and Hull. He seems to have 
been very favourably impressed \vith England, for he wrote 
to his father, ' In general I cannot sufficiently praise the 
extraordinary politeness and complaisance of the English, 
which far exceed my expectations. Even people of the 
lowest rank are polite, very modest, and sociable if one 
speaks to them.' 

But Bismarck felt that he was being wasted in the 
country, and gradually wearied of a life in which the 
monotony was, as he comically expressed it, only broken 
by ' night frosts, sick oxen, bad rape and worse roads, 



BISMARCK 427 

dead lambs, half-starved sheep, scant straw, fodder, 
money, potatoes and manure.' Still, he stuck to it, as 
the only alternative seemed to be the position of Landsrath 
or administrative chief of a Kreis or circle. In spite of 
everything, he really loved a country life ; while the 
society of the Pomeranian squires was not to be despised 
when there were among them men hke the Biilows, the 
Blankenburgs, Kleist, the future leader of the conservative 
party, and Albrecht von Roon, the future war minister 
of Prussia. So with Shakespeare readings, religious 
speculation with Thadden, and the correspondence neces- 
sary as inspector of the dykes on the Elbe for the district 
of Jerichow, his time was fully occupied. Indeed, the life 
seemed to be ideal when, in 1847, he won the hand of 
Johanna von Puttkammer, the daughter of a Pomeranian 
squire settled in the Harz Mountains. 

But six months before his marriage Bismarck left his 
country life not to return to it for the next forty years. 
In 1840, the old king had died and been succeeded by his 
son, Frederic William iv., a man of great learning and 
noble aspirations, but without sympathy for liberal ideas. 
Frederic William iii., as we have seen, after swearing to 
give his people a constitution, had never kept his promise, 
and had managed to govern without consulting the nation. 
But modern conditions were making this procedure almost 
impossible, and, in 1847, the necessity of raising a loan to 
build railways compelled the new king to summon a repre- 
sentative assembly. Frederic William's idea was to call 
together the eight provincial diets to a central assembly, 
which, however, should only have the right of consulting 
and petitioning. He absolutely refused to entertain the 
idea of a constitution, swearing that he would never allow 
' a sheet of paper to intervene between the Lord God in 
heaven and his subjects.' 

Bismarck, now in his thirty-second year, attended the 



428 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

assembly as substitute for the deputy of Jerichow, who was 
ill. Heartily in agreement with the crown, indignant 
with the Liberals, who claimed that the people had earned 
a constitution by the part they had played in the War of 
Liberation, he protested against the attempted parallels 
drawn between England and Prussia. He boasted that he 
clung to the doctrine which he said he had imbibed with 
his mother's milk, that the crown of Prussia was absolute, 
' not by the favour of the people but by the grace of God.' 
He argued bitterly against the emancipation of the Jews. 
The Christian state, he maintained, * is as old as any 
European state ; it is the ground in which they have 
taken root ; no state has a sure existence unless it has 
a religious foundation. For some the words " by the grace 
of God "... is no empty phrase : I see in them a con- 
fession that the princes desire to wield the sceptre which 
God has given them according to the will of God on earth. 
... If we withdraw this foundation, we retain in the state 
nothing but an accidental aggregate of rights, a kind of 
bulwark against the war of all against all, which ancient 
philosophy has assumed.' 

Bismarck returned from the assembly to Pomerania for 
his marriage a marked man, ' the rising hope of the stern, 
unbending Tories.' On his wedding tour at Venice he 
met the future king of Prussia, with whom he was soon 
to be so closely associated. In February 1848, the Revolu- 
tion broke out in France, and within a fortnight the thrones 
of nearly every monarchy in Europe began to totter. 
Moving eastward from France, the disorder appeared in 
south Germany and spread to Austria. The Revolution 
in Vienna was the signal for Berlin. On March 15th, the 
people rose, demanding a constitution. The king surren- 
dered to the mob, and the troops evacuated the city. The 
Liberals were delighted ; the press was now free ; they 
had liberty ; soon they would have a constitution. Mean- 



BISMARCK 429 

while, the Liberal leaders of Germany were summoning 
a German Constituent Assembly, with the intention of 
offering the German crown to the king of Prussia. 

Bismarck at once wrote the king a letter, full of ardent 
loyalty and affection, which for months the unhappy 
monarch kept open by him on his writing-table. Then he 
hurried to Berlin, ready, if necessary, to defend his sovereign 
with his sword, but grieved beyond words by the king's 
surrender — ' Prussia was to be dissolved in Germany.' 
Finding there was no chance of fighting, he set to work to 
organise a Conservative party, and helped to found the 
Kreuzzeihing as its organ. Bowing to the king's desire 
he allowed himself to be elected for the first parliament 
under the. new constitution, and alone with von Thadden, 
in spite of the terrorism of the mob, voted against the 
address to the throne. 

When the assembly at Frankfort elaborated a National 
Constitution, Bismarck scoffed at it as * A transcript of 
Magna Charta on continental blotting-paper.' He was 
dehghted when, in April 1849, Frederic Wilham refused 
to accept the dignity of * Emperor of the Germans,' describ- 
ing the Imperial crown as ' the iron fetter by which the 
descendant of four-and-twenty sovereigns, the ruler of 
sixteen million subjects and the lord of the loyalest and 
bravest army in the world, would be made the mere serf of 
the Revolution.' But Bismarck's policy was not that of a 
mere reactionary ; as he wrote in a friend's album, ' Our 
watchword must not be a federal state at any price, but 
the integrity of the Prussian crown at any price.* His 
reason for opposing parliamentary government was at the 
moment sound. He wrote, ' What with us is lacking is 
the whole class which in England carries on politics, the 
class of gentlemen who are well-to-do and therefore Con- 
servative, who are independent of material interests, and 
whose whole education is directed towards making them 



430 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

English statesmen, and the object of their Hfe is to take 
part in the Commonwealth of England.' For in Germany 
at that time the politicians were either university professors 
or trained bureaucrats. 

But though Frederic William refused the throne of 
Germany from the revolutionary parliament, he really 
hankered after the position, and proceeded to make a 
league with the kings of Hanover and Saxony to form a 
new Germanic confederation of which he was to be king. 
To prepare the way for this design, in 1849, Prussian troops 
stamped out the Revolution in Dresden, Baden and else- 
where. By the end of the year twenty-eight states had 
joined the new union. But, early in 1850, Austria, having 
conquered her rebellious Hungarian subjects, could once 
again turn her attention to Germany. By no means 
pleased at seeing the new expansion of Prussian power, 
she summoned the old Bundestag, and awaited the first 
opportunity of slighting Prussia. The occasion soon arose. 
The elector of Hesse Cassel, trusting to Austrian promises, 
overthrew his new constitution, and appealed for aid to the 
diet. As Hesse Cassel was a member of the new union, 
Prussian troops were sent thither. War with Austria 
seemed inevitable, but Prussia was not ready for war; 
the Czar was hostile — ' Austria had placed herself on the 
ground of the treaties, while Prussia was on the side of 
the Revolution.' The new Conservative party led by 
Bismarck and the Gerlachs preached peace with Austria 
and the abandonment of the Revolution. In the face of this 
opposition the king had to give way, and after a con- 
ference at Olmiitz (November 1850) the union was given up, 
and the old confederation with its Bundestag re-established. 

Bismarck was opposed to war, because in his opinion the 
union would be a cause of weakness instead of strength to 
Prussia. * Show us, gentlemen,' he said in parliament, 
* an object worthy of war, and you have my vote.' The 



BISMARCK 431 

result of his action was that he was considered to be a 
man who would be congenial to Austria, and, in i85i,was 
sent to Frankfort as Prussian minister to the Bundestag. 
His friends now were convinced that he would go far, and 
Motley wrote of him a year or two later, * Strict integrity 
and courage of character, a high sense of honour, a firm 
religious beUef, united with remarkable talents, make up 
necessarily a combination which cannot be found any day 
at court ; and I have no doubt that he is destined to be 
Prime Minister, unless his obstinate truthfulness, which 
is apt to be a stumbling-block for pohticians, stands in his 
way.' 

At Frankfort Bismarck soon found that the whole trend 
of Austrian policy was to utilise the Germanic confederation 
for the exaltation of Austria and the abasement of Prussia. 
' Cautious dishonesty,' he wrote, ' is the characteristic of 
their association with us. They have nothing which 
awakens confidence. They intrigue under the mask of 
good fellowship.' By the constitution the Austrian 
minister was perpetual president of the Bundestag. Bis- 
marck soon showed that he was not to be overawed by 
Austrian superciliousness. He thus describes the method 
he pursued, ' In the sittings of the military commission, 
when Rochow was Prussian envoy, Austria alone smoked. 
Rochow, who was a passionate smoker, would also have 
gladly done so, but did not venture. When I came I did 
not see any reason against it, and asked for a light from the 
presiding state ; this seemed to be noticed with astonish- 
ment and displeasure by him and the other gentlemen ; 
it was obviously an event for them.' On another occasion 
Thun, the Austrian minister, received him in his shirt 
sleeves. ' You are quite right,' said Bismarck ; ' it is very 
hot,' and took off his coat also. 

The first important business Bismarck had to deal with 
was the claim of Austria to be admitted to the Zollverein. 



432 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

Austria recognised the importance Prussia gained by being 
head of the Customs Union, and she thought to counteract 
this by demanding to be allowed to join it on her own terms. 
Bismarck was sent to Vienna to supervise the negotiations ; 
and there, as he said, ' I did all I could to render the 
relations between the two Cabinets as friendly as possible 
— without yielding anything in the matter of the ZoUverein.' 
Austria was furious at this rebuff, and Bismarck pointed out 
to King Frederic William the necessity of seeking an ally 
to strengthen his position. At the moment Russia seemed 
the most suitable, for, as he wrote, * Russia is to be had on 
the cheapest terms ; it only wishes to grow in the East : 
the other two (England and France) at our expense.' 
Thanks to his influence, in spite of the fact that the king 
could not make up his mind, and, as Bismarck said, * goes 
to bed an Englishman and wakes up a Russian,' Prussia 
remained neutral during the Crimean War. 

In the autumn of 1857, Frederic William's health broke 
down, and his brother, ' The Cartridge Prince of 1848,' the 
future Emperor William, became regent. He summoned 
the Prince of Hohenzollern to form a ministry of moderate 
Liberals. One of the first acts of the Hohenzollern ministry 
was to recall Bismarck from Frankfort. The Prince 
Regent's ministers desired to disconnect themselves from 
the party hostile to Austria, while Bismarck's pohcy was 
to seize the occasion of the strained relations between 
France and Austria, over the question of Italy, to strengthen 
the position of Prussia in Germany. To keep Bismarck 
out of the way the government sent him as ambassador 
to St. Petersburg. There, during 1859, he watched with 
concern the vacillating attitude of Prussia. While on a 
winter journey between Berlin and St. Petersburg he was 
attacked by inflammation of the lungs and rheumatic fever. 
This illness formed an epoch in his life, for he lost the 
powers of youth, and ever afterwards suffered from a 



BISMARCK 433 

nervous restlessness, and from this date became more 
irritable and exacting. Listless after his severe illness, 
and feeling himself removed from the busy world, he began 
to think that his career was finished. ' I am quite con- 
tented with my existence here,' he wrote; * I seek for no 
change in my position until it be God's will. I settle down 
quietly in vSchonhausen or Reinfeld, and can leisurely set 
about making my coffin.' 

But events were happening at Berlin which soon sum- 
moned him again to active duty. Von Roon, his old friend, 
now Minister of War, had seen with disgust the weakness 
and disorder of the Prussian aim}^ when it was necessary 
to mobilise it during the Italian campaign, in case the 
victorious French might advance into Germany. Backed 
by the Prince Regent he had set to work to strengthen and 
reorganise the army. But when his proposals — (i) to 
increase the number of recruits to be raised each year ; 

(2) to lengthen the term of service with the colours ; and 

(3) to improve the Landwehr or mihtia — were laid before 
the Lower House, they were rejected. A struggle at once 
ensued between Wilham (who in 1861 became king) and 
the parliament. The deadlock continued through i860, 
and Roon saw that if his policy was to succeed there must 
be a man of iron at the head of the ministry. At the end 
of June 1861, he wired to St. Petersburg asking Bismarck 
to hurry to Berlin. There were great expectations in 
Berlin that ' we shall have a Bismarck ministry, and that 
will be a coup d'etat.' But the king was not yet ready to 
give his confidence to Bismarck. The following year, after 
the new elections, the Liberals returned stronger than ever. 
Bismarck was again recalled to Berlin, but did not feel 
able to undertake the responsibility at the moment, as 
he saw that the king was not yet ready to give him his 
whole confidence. Bismarck desired the crisis to become 
more acute, so that he might be felt to be indispensable. 

2E 



434 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

Instead, however, of being sent back to Russia he was 
despatched to Paris on the understanding that, if no modus 
Vivendi was discovered, he would be recalled to take the 
position of Foreign Minister. During the few weeks which 
he spent in France he found time for a visit to England, 
and had the opportunity of a long conversation with 
Disraeli, the leader of the opposition. He told him, * I 
shall soon be compelled to undertake the leadership of the 
Prussian government. My first care ^vill be, with or 
without the help of parliament, to organise the army. . . . 
When the army has been brought to such a state as to 
command respect, then I will take the first opportunity to 
declare war \vith Austria, burst asunder the German 
confederation, bring the middle and lower states into 
subjection, and give Germany a national union under the 
leadership of Prussia.' 

In the middle of September, the Lower House refused to 
pass the Budget, and von Roon wired to Bismarck to 
return at once to Berhn from Biarritz, where he was in 
attendance on Napoleon, enjoying the sea-bathing. He 
thus describes the situation : ' When I arrived in Berlin, in 
September 1862, summoned by his Majesty from Paris, 
his abdication lay already signed on his writing-table. 
I refused to take office. The document was ready to be 
handed to the crown prince. He asked me whether I 
was prepared to govern against the majority of the national 
representatives ^vithout a Budget. I answered ** Yes," 
and the letter of abdication was destroyed.' But the 
situation was one of overwhelming difficulty. The new 
minister was soon the best-hated man in Berhn, and the 
king on occasions lost his nerve. One day he said to 
Bismarck, * I can see far enough from this palace window 
to see your head fall on the scaffold and after yours mine.' 
' Well,' Bismarck rephed, ' for myself I cannot imagine a 
nobler death than that or on the battlefield. I shall fall 



BISMARCK 435 

like Strafford and your Majesty like Charles i., not like 
Louis XVI. Surely your Majesty,' he added, pointing to 
the Prussian officer's sword which he wore, ' as captain of a 
company, cannot think of deserting it under fire ? ' ' Never,' 
was the reply. Bismarck, by appealing to his sovereign's 
soldierly instincts, had won. 

Bismarck's first business was to muzzle his enemies 
to prevent their doing mischief, and then to turn his 
attention to foreign policy ; for he perceived that he could 
only conquer his enemies at home by a successful foreign 
pohcy. His plan was relentless. All important military 
and administrative posts were given to Conservatives ; 
Liberal officials were either pensioned or degraded ; Liberal 
judges were passed over for promotion ; and the press was 
held in check by confiscations and lawsuits. He had no fear 
of a revolution, for the army was on his side ; and although 
the Conservative party had only eleven votes in the Lower 
House, he coolly faced the enormous Liberal majority, 
because he knew that it was merely composed of the self- 
interested middle-class, and that the mass of the country 
cared nothing about the constitutional struggle. At home 
as well as abroad he understood the use of * blood and iron.' 

In foreign politics he pursued his former scheme of 
alliance with Russia, and, in 1863, he mobihsed the Prussian 
army to prevent the Prussian Poles aiding their brethren 
in the struggle with Russia. This brought to a close any 
danger of a Russian-French alliance, and prepared the way 
for Russia's benevolent attitude during the wars with 
Austria and France. Meanwhile, Austria, seeing the gro^ving 
reactionary tendency of the policy of Prussia, was making 
a bid for the support of the Liberal party in Germany. In 
August 1863, she proposed to summon a congress of the 
German princes, with a view of laying before them a scheme 
for the reform of the Federal Constitution. The idea was 
that there should be a supreme Directory wdth an assembly 



436 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

of delegates from the parliaments of the various states, 
a federal court of appeal, and periodical conferences of 
sovereigns. Bismarck, after a severe struggle, at last got the 
king to consent to the following declaration : ' In any reform 
of the confederation, Prussia equally with Austria must 
have the right of vetoing war; she must be admitted, in 
the matter of the presidency, to an equal right with Austria ; 
and, finally, ^he will yield no tittle of her rights save to a 
parliament representing the whole German nation.' 

Scarcely had Austria received this slap in the face, when 
a crisis arose which had long been imminent. The duchies 
of Schleswig-Holstein were to all intents German. Holstein 
was part of the old empire, although for centuries the king 
of Denmark had been its duke ; Schleswig, on the other 
hand, was really a fief of the Danish crowTi, but had been 
colonised from Holstein and bound to it by custom. As 
early as 1830, the Danes, desiring to consolidate their 
kingdom, had overridden the rights of the old local estates 
of the duchies. But when, in 1848, they attempted to 
incorporate the duchies in the kingdom there had been a 
rebelhon. The matter had been at last settled by a 
conference in London, and Denmark had granted the 
duchies Home Rule under the Danish crown. 

But, in 1863, in spite of the recent Treaty of London 
(1852), the Danes determined to annex Schleswig to Den- 
mark. Bismarck had, however, determined in his own 
mind that Holstein with her harbour of Kiel should be 
Prussian. By cleverly inducing Austria to join with 
Prussia in a demand, that the confederation should occupy 
Schleswig as a pledge ' for the observance by Denmark of 
the compact of 1852,' he contrived to give Austria and 
Prussia a free hand, to act independentty of the diet, as 
European powers. Early in 1864, the Prussian and 
Austrian forces drove the Danes from both provinces. 
Bismarck's next step was to prevent the Duke of Augusten- 



BISMARCK 437 

burg, the German claimant of the duchy of Holstein, from 
making good his pretensions. This was difficult, because 
both the emperor of Austria and the king of Prussia 
favoured the Augustenburger's claims. When, in October, 
Denmark made peace it was decided that, for the time 
being, iVustria should administer Schleswig and Prussia 
Holstein. Bismarck's next step was to overcome King 
William's conscientious objection by obtaining an opinion 
from a body of Prussian lawyers that the claims of the 
Augustenburg candidate had no ground, and at the same 
time to persuade the Czar to put forward the claim of the 
house of Oldenburg to which he belonged. 

Meanwhile, the whole feeUng of Germany was against 
Prussia, and Bismarck was still faced by the constitutional 
deadlock at home. Still, Austria, with her treasury empty, 
her army unprepared for mobilisation, and conscious that 
the Italians were awaiting an opportunity to seize Venetia, 
was unable to take the opportunity of declaring war. 
Accordingly, she consented to a temporary settlement at 
Gastein, in August 1865, whereby she continued to ad- 
minister Schleswig and Prussia administered Holstein. 
But Austria found that, by the Convention of Gastein, she 
had thrown away her influence with the small German 
states, who continued to agitate on behalf of Augustenburg. 
Italy gave her an opportunity of finding an ally by offering 
to purchase Venetia, but Francis Joseph would not hear 
of ceding his Italian province. Bismarck, however, seized 
the occasion of the irritation of the smaller states with 
Austria, to contract a commercial treaty between the 
ZoUverein and Italy, and to recognise the Itahan kingdom. 
Austria thereon once again took up the part of Augusten- 
burg and intermeddled with Holstein. War was now 
inevitable, and, on April 8th, 1866, Bismarck concluded 
an alliance with Italy, whereby if within three months 
Prussia had cause to declare war with Austria, Italv should 



438 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

also declare war ; if the war was successful, Venetia was 
to be ceded to Italy, and an equivalent portion of terri- 
tory assigned to Prussia in northern Germany. Austria, 
finding that Italy was active, began to mobilise, and Prussia 
at once followed her example. The final breach between 
the two countries did not take place till each party had laid 
their accusations against the other before the Federal Diet. 
The diet by nine votes to six declared on behalf of Austria. 
Thereon the Prussian delegate was at once withdrawn from 
Frankfort. 

Thanks to the organisation work of Roon, and the careful 
plans of Moltke, the Prussians were successful : the armies 
of the confederation were beaten, and the Austrians crushed 
at Koniggratz (Sadowa), within six weeks of the declaration 
of war. But Bismarck, who accompanied the king on 
the campaign, brought the war to an abrupt end, for he 
knew that Napoleon was ready to interfere if he got the 
sHghtest chance. Accordingly, he persuaded the king to 
give up his idea of entering Vienna in triumph. Once 
Prussia had proved her predominance he was anxious to 
turn Austria into a friend, or at least to ensure that she 
should be neutral in the great struggle he foresaw with 
France. By the Peace of Prague (August 22nd, 1866) 
the war was concluded. Austria ceded Venetia to Italy, 
but lost no other territory, for Bismarck sought Prussia's 
indemnity from the smaller German states by absorbing 
Hanover, Electoral Hesse, a portion of Hesse Darmstadt, 
and the free city of Frankfort. All the country north of 
the Main was formed into a North German Confederation, 
of which the king of Prussia was president ; while the south 
German states were to be allowed to form a confederation, 
from which Austria was excluded. By his moderation, and 
by leaving the south German states alone, Bismarck com- 
pletely soothed Napoleon's irritation at Prussia's success ; 
but he secretly made a treaty with the south German 



BISMARCK 439 

states that, in the event of war with France, their armies 
should be placed at the disposal of the king of Prussia. 

The result of this successful war was that, from being 
the most unpopular man in Prussia, Bismarck became the 
most popular. The constitutional deadlock was dissolved, 
and Bismarck in the hour of his triumph conciliated the 
deputies by asking for an Act of Indemnity. As Minister 
of Prussia and Chancellor of the new Confederation of the 
North, his time was fully occupied at home in establishing 
the new order of things. But he had constantly to watch 
foreign politics, for Napoleon thought that he ought to have 
some indemnity for allowing Prussia to conquer Austria. 
Bismarck before the war had certainly hinted to the 
emperor that this might be permissible ; but he did not 
intend to cede a foot of German soil, and, as early as 1866, 
when pressed by the French ambassador under threat of 
war to cede Maintz, he coolly replied, ' Why, then, have war.' 
Napoleon therefore first tried to arrange that part of 
Belgium should be given to France ; but, finding that this 
would be opposed by England, he suggested Luxemburg ; 
but Bismarck again foiled him. Meanwhile, the emperor 
found that the south German states were entering the 
north German Zollverein, and on his protesting Bismarck 
published the secret military treaties. Soon some of the 
south German states, notably Baden, wanted to join the 
North German Confederation. But Bismarck had no 
intention of putting himself in the wrong before he was 
ready to fight, or of undertaking more than he could perform. 
Still he knew well that war was inevitable ; for Napoleon, 
after his failure in Mexico, and the ill success of his European 
diplomacy, was bound to do something to appease the mob 
of Paris. 

Events moved quickly. After Isabella had been deposed 
from the throne of Spain, in 1869, General Prim, the 
Spanish dictator, after approaching various other semi-royal 



440 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

personages, fixed on Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern- 
Sigmaringen as the candidate for the Spanish crown. 
Bismarck secretly gave all the assistance in his power to 
the Spanish emissaries, because he thought that with a 
German prince on the Spanish throne France could not 
take the offensive in Germany. But openly he declared 
that it was a family question which must be settled between 
the king of Prussia and the Prince of Sigmaringen. He 
was secretly very disgusted when, at the end of 1869, owing 
to the advice of King WilUam, the offer was rejected. But 
negotiations were again opened, and, thanks to his influ- 
ence, on June 25th, 1870 King Wilham withdrew his 
opposition, and, on July 4th, the crown was officially offered 
to Prince Leopold, subject to the approval of the Cortes. 
Then, because of the outcry in France, and the protests from 
Austria, on July 12th, Leopold withdrew his candidature. 
French diplomacy had triumphed. Unfortunately, however, 
the war-party in France desired to humiliate Prussia ; and 
Count Benedetti, the French ambassador, was instructed 
to demand from King William a pledge that Prince Leopold's 
candidature should never be renewed in the future. 

On the news of the crisis Bismarck had hurried to Berhn 
from his estate of Varzin, with the intention of joining the 
king at Ems. But on Prince Leopold's withdrawal he 
remained at Berlin. He was dining with Roon and Moltke, 
on the evening of July 13th, very depressed at the want of 
success of his policy and the apparent French triumph, 
when a long rather ambiguous telegram arrived from 
the king describing Benedetti 's demands, his own refusal 
to give guarantees for the future, and his desire that the 
subject should be considered closed. The telegram ended 
by authorising Bismarck to publish it if he thought fit. 
Bismarck saw his opportunity : hurriedly putting a blue 
pencil through those parts of the message which showed 
indecision, he re-read it to Roon and Moltke. ' That 's 



BISMARCK 441 

better,' said Roon. Moltke added, ' At first it sounded like 
a chamade (retreat), and now it is a fanfare.' Bismarck 
then explained that if sent off at once to the ambassadors 
it would be published in Paris by midnight, but he 
pointed out that it meant war ; because, as the telegram 
now stood, it read as if the king had insulted the ambassador ; 
so he once again asked Moltke if he was ready. ' I believe,' 
said Moltke, ' we shall prove superior to them, always of 
course with the reservation that no one can foresee the 
issue of a great pitched battle.' 

Two days later France declared war on Prussia. Bis- 
marck, to show Europe the drift of French diplomacy, 
published the draft which Napoleon had sent him of the 
proposed .partition of Belgium. During the campaign he 
accompanied the king, and took with him part of the chan- 
cellery, keeping in his hands, when in the field, the whole of 
the diplomacy of Prussia and the North German Confedera- 
tion. The result of the great Prussian successes which 
ended at Sedan was the surrender of the French army and 
of Napoleon. Bismarck would not allow the emperor to 
see King William until all details were settled, for he knew 
the kind-heartedness of his sovereign. The terms of the 
surrender were arranged in a small one-windowed room 
in a weaver's cottage near Donchery. There the fallen 
emperor met his terrible adversary. * A wonderful con- 
trast to our last meeting in the Tuileries,' wrote Bismarck 
to his wife. ' Our conversation was difficult, if I was to 
avoid matters which would be painful to the man who had 
been struck down by the right hand of God.' 

Even before his arrival at his temporary residence at 
Versailles, Bismarck was continually engaged with the 
various negotiations for peace, set on foot by Bonapartists, 
Royalists and Republicans. He was ready to recognise 
any government as long as it was capable of concluding 
a peace which should be binding on France. When 



442 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

asked by an emissary of Gambetta if he would recognise 
the repubhc, he repHed, * Without doubt or hesitation, 
not merely the republic, but, if you like it, a Gambetta 
dynasty, only that dynasty must give us a secure and 
advantageous peace.' He told all negotiators that France 
must surrender Alsace and Lorraine. Meanwhile, his 
agents were sounding the courts of aU the south German 
states on the question of joining the North German Con- 
federation. Baden gladly acquiesced, and all the others 
more or less enthusiastically, except Bavaria. Bavaria 
had to be very gently handled, for Bismarck would not hear 
of anything like compulsion, not only because of the excel- 
lent service which the Bavarian troops had rendered during 
the war, but in case she might be driven into the arms 
of Austria. Ultimately the negotiations succeeded, and 
after some quibbling as to whether the title should be 
German Emperor or Emperor of Germany, King William 
was proclaimed German Emperor at Versailles, on January 
i8th, 1870, the anniversary of the day on which the first 
king of Prussia had crowned himself at Konigsberg, in 1701. 

Six days later M. Favre arrived from Paris prepared to 
conclude an armistice — the French were to surrender the 
forts and lay down their arms ; meanwhile, there was to 
be a suspension of hostilities everywhere, to allow of a parlia- 
ment meeting at Bordeaux to accept the terms of peace. 
In spite of every effort made by Thiers, France had to 
surrender Alsace and Lorraine, and pay an indemnity of 
;f 250,000,000. When Thiers spoke of Europe intervening 
to save France, Bismarck merely replied to him, ' If you 
speak to me of Europe I will speak to you of Napoleon and 
the 100,000 bayonets which, at a wire from us, would 
reseat him on his throne.' 

Bismarck's policy was to cripple France so that she 
might no longer be a danger to Germany, but he had no 
desire to see her wiped off the face of Europe. ' It is not 



BISMARCK 443 

our policy/ he declared in the Reichstag, ' to injure our 
neighbour more than is absolutely necessary to secure for 
us the execution of the treaty of peace ; but on the con- 
trary to help and enable her, as far as we can do so without 
detriment to our interests, to recover from the disaster 
that has befallen her country.' Acting on this policy, 
during the years which followed the war, he refused to 
lend his support to the war-party led by Moltke, who, in 
1876, wanted to crush the growing strength of the republic. 
In fact, to use his own words, Bismarck, having gained his 
object in placing Prussia at the head of a united Germany, 
had become a Friedensfanatiker (fanatic for peace). 
* Germany,' he declared, ' devoted to her own domestic task 
would pursue a policy of strict non-intervention abroad.' 
It was with this in view that he formed the league of the 
three empires (Germany, Austria and Russia) which 
dominated Europe from 1872 to 1878. But his action as 
the 'honest broker,' at the Berlin Conference of 1878, 
which settled the dispute in the Near East arising from 
the Russo-Turkish war, disgusted the Czar, who had 
hoped to find in him an ally, not an impartial arbitrator. 
Accordingly, in 1879, Bismarck formed a defensive treaty 
with Austria. This new combination was later joined 
by Italy, who was afraid of French aggression in Tunis. 
The result was the formation of the Triple Alhance in 1883, 
to which in 189 1 the French and Russians replied by the 
Dual Alliance. 

While successful in foreign politics Prince Bismarck 
(he was created FUrst, in 1871, as a reward for his services 
during the war) found it more difficult to control his 
domestic policy. In 1869, just before the fall of Rome, 
the doctrine of papal infallibility had been published. 
The Prussian government allowed the doctrine to be taught 
in the Catholic schools, but when the Archbishop of 
Cologne threatened to suspend all the professors at Bonn 



444 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

unless they taught it, and the Bishop of Ermeland actually 
exconununicated a teacher at Braunsberg, Bismarck set 
himself the task ' of defining the position between Church 
and State.' At once the Ultramontanes were in arms, 
and Pio Nono showed his annoyance by refusing to receive 
a Prussian ambassador at the Vatican. Bismarck's 
attitude was firm. ' Have no fear,' he said, ' we shall not 
go to Canossa either in body or spirit.' His next step in 
this policy, known as the ' Kulturkampf,' was to expel the 
Jesuits from Germany, whereon the pope described him 
as a Protestant Philip ii. Then followed the May Laws, 
which (i) forbade any one to be appointed to a cure of 
souls except a German educated and brought up in Prussian 
schools and universities ; (2) made civil marriage com- 
pulsory; and (3) took away the inspection of schools from 
the priests. 

Bismarck in this struggle maintained that the conflict 
was a political, not a religious one. ' The question at 
issue,' he said, ' is not a struggle of an evangelical dynasty 
against the Catholic Church : it is the old struggle ... a 
struggle for power as old as the human race . . . between 
king and priest.' But the great chancellor had met his 
match : he found he was unable to coerce the Catholic 
people, who soon were represented by a hundred deputies 
in the Reichstag. Meanwhile, his financial poHcy not 
having been successful, in 1877 he suddenly resigned and 
retired to Varzin. 

Ten months later, he returned to office restored to 
health and ready to face the labours of the Berlin Confer- 
ence, and to renew the battle against Socialism, which had- 
reached a crisis with Nobiling's attempt on the life of 
the emperor. At first he tried the same methods of force 
which he had unsuccessfully applied against the Ultra- 
montanes. Laws w^ere passed to enable the government 
to prevent the printing of writings which supported the 



BISMARCK 445 

aims of the social democrats, and power was given to 
declare towns in a state of siege. But the attempt to put 
a large party in the state under permanent police control 
broke down. Bismarck thereon suddenly made a ' volte- 
face.' He had already reversed his Kulturkampf policy, 
and after effecting a conciliation with the pope was leaning 
for his support in the struggle against Socialism on the 
Conservative and Catholic vote. Now, though over sixty 
years old. he determined to cut the ground under the feet 
of the Socialists, by advancing government measures for the 
insurance of workmen against unemployment and ill-health, 
and for the provision of old-age pensions. This involved of 
necessity the reorganisation of the whole of the financial 
system of the empire. It meant as regarded foreign com- 
merce a break with free trade and a reversion to a protective 
system. Bismarck's first aim was to get rid of direct 
taxation. ' I ascribe a large part of our emigration to the 
fact that the emigrant wishes to escape the direct pressure 
of taxes and exactions, and to go to a land where the 
class-distinction does not exist, and where he will also 
have the pleasure of knowing that the produce of his 
labours will be protected against foreign interference.' 

His first idea was, by making the sale of tobacco, brandy 
and beer government monopolies, to find enough money 
to finance the insurance and old-age pension schemes, 
without asking the workman for any contribution. Here 
he was met by so strong an opposition that he had to give 
way ; but, for the remaining ten years of his official life, 
he worked at the introduction of protection and at perfect- 
ing his schemes for social reform. Concurrently with his 
economic poHcy he began to look around for other means 
of preventing the great loss that Germany suffered owing 
to emigration. With this in view he entered on a colonial 
poHcy, which resulted, after some friction with England, 
in the estabhshment of the German colonies of Togoland 



446 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

and the Cameroons in West Africa, and of German East 
Africa on the mainland opposite Zanzibar. 

On March 9th, 1888, the old Emperor William i. died, 
and three months later his son, the Emperor Frederic, 
followed him to the grave. The new emperor, Wilham li., 
begged Bismarck to remain at his post of chancellor. But 
soon friction arose between the mighty subject and the 
impulsive, strong-willed young monarch. Bismarck had 
for far too long ruled Prussia and Germany to play second 
fiddle even to the emperor. There was a grave division of 
opinion between them, as to the Socialist Laws and the 
responsibility of ministers. The climax arose when the 
young emperor forbade the chancellor to receive ministers 
of the Reichstag without his permission. ' Please tell his 
Majesty,' said Bismarck to the official whom the emperor 
had sent to inform him of this command, * that I allow no 
one to have any control over my threshold.' Next day 
the emperor came personally to enforce his demand, 
asking him if he would not obey ' not even when I command 
you as sovereign.' To this the old autocrat replied, 
* My master's authority ends at my wife's drawing-room.' 
Thereon the emperor demanded his resignation. The next 
day the news was in the papers that the emperor had 
accepted the chancellor's resignation, and a gazette ap- 
peared in which Prince Bismarck was appointed Colonel- 
General of Cavalry with the rank of Field-marshal, and the 
title of Duke of Lauenburg. 

Bismarck retired to his residence at Friedrichsruh, near 
Hamburg, which he had purchased with part of the grant 
given him after the Franco-Prussian war. From there he 
waged a bitter war against the emperor, not hesitating to 
impart state secrets to the newspapers, and resolutely 
criticising every action of the new government. He was 
universally popular, and public sympathy was showered 
upon him ; indeed, when he officially left Berlin (March 29th, 



BISMARCK 447 

1890) after his resignation the demonstration was so great 
that, as he grimly expressed it, he had been treated to 
' a first-class funeral.' The quarrel between the sovereign 
and ex-chancellor became a public scandal, and at last the 
emperor determined to try to end it ; but for a long time 
Bismarck refused to listen to any overtures from his former 
master. In the end the emperor's little courtesies were 
accepted in the spirit in which they were offered, and on 
January 26th, 1894, Bismarck came to Berlin to offer his 
congratulations to the emperor on his thirty-fifth birthday. 
The veteran survived another four years, and it was not 
till July 30th, 1898, that ' the greatest pohtical figure of 
the century ' passed away at Friedrichsruh in the eighty- 
fourth year of his age. 

That there would have been no German Empire without 
Bismarck it is impossible to affirm, but that the German 
Empire as it at present exists bears trace of his workman- 
ship in every part of its political structure, no one will 
deny. One of the most striking features of his career is 
the mental ease with which he passed from one stage of 
political thought to another. In his early manhood we 
see him, the future founder of the German Empire, pro- 
testing against all schemes of German unity, illustrating 
the extreme particularism of the Conservative Prussian. 
Again we remember that he, who established the Reichstag 
on a system of universal suffrage, was in his early day the 
stern opponent of constitutional government, the rigid 
upholder of monarchical absolutism. Yet again we see 
him persecuting the Ultramontanes, only later to find in 
them his chief support against the Socialists. Yet no one 
will accuse Bismarck of pure opportunism. 

The secret of his career which co-ordinates these seeming 
inconsistencies lies in his dictum, ' La patrie veut tire servie 
et pas dominee.' As he said to the French negotiators at 
Versailles, in 1871, ' One must modify his course of action 



448 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

in accordance with events, with the situation of affairs, 
with the possibihties of the case, taking the relation of 
things into account and serving his country as opportunity 
offers, and not according to his own opinions, which are 
often prejudices.' He told them that when he first entered 
political life, as a young and inexperienced man, he held 
very different views and aims to those which he had at 
present. He had, however, altered and reconsidered his 
opinions, and had not hesitated to sacrifice his wishes, 
either partially or wholly, to the requirements of the day, 
in order to be of service. Hence it w^as that he governed 
Germany by a system of alliances : when one party would 
no longer work with him, as in diplomacy, he turned to 
another. As regards his own views of government he 
maintained, ' Really, after all, an intelligent absolutism 
is the best form of government. Without a certain 
amount of it everything falls asunder ... a republic is, 
perhaps, after all the right form of government, and it 
will doubtless come in the future ; but I dislike our 
republicans.' 

The German Empire, as founded by Bismarck, blends in 
a wonderful degree the absolute and democratic form of 
government. The Reichstag is composed of members 
returned for equal electoral districts chosen by universal 
suffrage : here we see the true democratic spirit which 
demands such logical arrangement. Above it there is the 
Bundesrath (Federal Council), in which the ministers and 
councillors and the sovereigns are hereditary members, 
who, as Bismarck said, ' are the true guardians of German 
unity, not the Reichstag and its parties.' In England the 
Government rests in the House of Commons, but in 
Germany in the Federal Council, which wields both the 
executive and the legislative power. The Reichstag has 
to content itself with criticism, the amending or vetoing of 
bills, and the power to refuse its assent to new taxes. 



BISMARCK 449 

The whole power of the ministry was lodged in the hands 
of the chancellor. For Bismarck contended that a board 
cannot be responsible — * responsibility is only there when 
there is a single man who can be brought to task for any 
mistakes.' So for twenty years, as chancellor, he con- 
trolled the government, and, as we have seen, it was over 
the question of responsibility that he was at last forced 
to resign. His duties during this period were immense. 
' He was sole minister to the president of the confederation 
(after 1870 to the emperor). The president (who was 
King of Prussia) could declare peace and war, sign treaties 
and appoint officials, but all his acts required the signature 
of the chancellor, who was truly Foreign Minister of the 
Confederation (or empire), and had the whole patronage. 
More than this, he was at the head of the whole internal 
administration : from time to time different departments 
of state were created — marine, post-office, finance — but 
the men who stood at the head of each department were 
not co-ordinate with the chancellor : they were not his 
colleagues but his subordinates, to whom he delegated 
work. They were not immediately responsible to the 
Imperial Council or Reichstag, but to him : he, whenever 
he wished it, could undertake the immediate control of 
each department ; he could defend its actions, and was 
technically responsible to the council for any failure.' 
But not only was he the w^orking head of the Imperial 
government — he held the same position for the kingdom 
of Prussia. 

That he successfully performed the multitudinous tasks, 
which arose from his many offices, was due to two things. 
First of all his marvellous physique, which he ascribed to 
the healthy outdoor hfe of his younger days. To the last, 
hunting was his recreation : he hated town life and office 
work, though he so broke himself to it that it became a 
second nature. The second cause of his success was his 

2F 



450 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 

strength of character. Like MachiavelU he despised all 
' those brain-spun fogs of fancy which are apt to obscure 
the path of practical politics.' Yet he had no Italian 
suppleness. The main trait in his character was a down- 
rightness which was frankly brutal. At no crisis did he 
waver : his goal was always before him : never did he try 
to befog the issue, and his outspoken frankness more than 
anything else caused his success among diplomatists whom 
he scared by his downright straightforwardness. In 
diplomacy he could allow no part for mere sentiment. 
Sentiment he abhorred at all times, and during the siege of 
Paris nobody was a stronger supporter of the poHcy of 
bombardment and of the execution oi francstireurs. His 
judgment told him that in war the greater injury you inflict 
on your enemy the sooner he will yield, and the less hardship 
you will inflict on your own soldiers. 

Strongly self-confident, he seldom allowed his judgment 
to be clouded by his prejudices : he could calculate to a 
nicety the obstacles in his path and the means requisite 
to secure the end : his success was, more often than not, 
due to the fact that in solving a problem he usually had at 
least two strings to his bow. Bold and decisive as was his 
foreign policy, he was at the same time cautious and prudent : 
for he never left anything to fortune, and never forced on a 
war till he was sure to win. No one knew better when to be 
silent and when to speak, and he was a past master at 
influencing pubHc opinion by means of the press. For 
though he really despised public opinion and was ready, 
as in the years 1862-1866, to rule in the face of all opposition, 
he was too wise not to see that public opinion was an 
important asset in politics ; consequently, he spent much 
time in influencing and concihating the crowd. 

The weak side of his character lay in his uncertainty of 
temper and imperiousness : hence it was that when 
opposed by political foes he was too often ready to call in 



BISMARCK 451 

all the majesty and power of the state to crush them, and 
' Bismarckbeleidigung ' became a common offence at the 
police courts ; while, as we have seen, as in the case of 
Holstein and in that of the Ems telegram, he never scrupled 
to use any means to attain his end. Yet in striking con- 
trast to this was his generous treatment of the nations 
whom he had conquered. The sense of proportion and 
moderation were strongly developed in his character, and 
it was thanks to this that the German Empire is so securely 
founded. As he said of his policy at the time, ' The 
newspapers will not be satisfied, the historian may very 
likely condemn our Conservatism : he may say, *' The 
stupid fellow might have asked for more, he would have 
got it, they would have given it to him : his might was 
right." I was more anxious that these people should go 
away heartily satisfied. What is the use of treaties which 
men are forced to sign ? ' Thus it was that he successfully 
solved the problem which had puzzled all patriotic Germans 
from the days of Charlemagne. 



INDEX 



Aachen, cp. Aix-la-Chapelle, 
Abderahman, defeated at Poictiers, 

lO. 

II., Ommayada ruler of Spain, 

24. 
Abu Bekr, conquers Persia, 9. 
Academies of Pisa and Florence, 

founded by Lorenzo de' Medici, 

185. 
Acre, besieged by Philip Augustus, 

97-8; Frederic 11. at, 129; siege 

by Napoleon, 371, 
Agnes, Empress, upholds antipope, 

71 ; attends Lateran Council, 

76. 
of Meran, adulterous marriage, 

100; children legitimised, loi, 106. 
Aix-la-Chapelle, death of Charle- 
magne, 33 ; Partition of, 40 ; place 

of imperial coronation, 157; Treaty 

of 1668, 313 ; Congress of, 392 ; 

Bismarck at, 425-6. 
Alaric, conquers Rome, 4. 
Alberti, Leo Battista, friendship with 

Lorenzo de' Medici, 186-7. 
Albigenses, heretics, 107 ; crusade 

against, 107-8. 
Albornoz, Cardinal, government of 

Rome, 161, 166. 
Alcabala, tax on sales, 254. 
Alcuin advises Charlemagne, 30 ; 

teaches at Imperial Academy, 37. 
Aleander, Girolamo, legate at Diet 

of Worms, 231-2. 
Alexander i., czar, at Tilsit, 381; 

breaks with Napoleon, 384; re- 
stores Bourbons, 385 ; attempted 

murder, 392. 
II., pope, Norman nominee, 71 ; 

struggle with antipope, 71-2. 

VI., pope, Rodrigo Borgia, 216. 

Alexia, Empress, demands aid from 

Urban 11., 88-9. 



Alsace, relinquished by Spain, 307 ; 
annexed by Louis xiv., 318 ; ceded 
to Germany, 442. 

Alva, Duke of, commands against 
pope, 253 ; attacked by Don Car- 
los, 260; failure in Netherlands, 
261-2 ; success in Portugal, 265 ; 
character, 271. 

America, Columbus lands in Baha- 
mas, 204 ; Columbus' further dis- 
coveries, 204-14 ; origin of the 
name, 210; Philip's possessions, 
254 ; influence on French Revolu- 
tion, 359. 

Amiens, Peace of, 375 ; causes of 
rupture, 377, 

Anabaptists at Zwickau, 233; at 
Miinster, 239 ; Luther's dislike of, 
242. 

Angelo, Michael, educated by Lorenzo 
de' Medici, 185. 

Antonio, Dom, claims to Portugal, 
265-6 ; expedition on his behalf, 
269 ; proposed assassination, 271. 

Antwerp, the 'Spanish Fury,' 263. 

Areola, battle of, 369. 

Armada, Spanish, its failure, 266-7. 

Arnulf, Bishop of Metz, progenitor 
of Frankish emperors, 8. 

of Flanders, arranges murder of 

William Longsword, 44 ; joins 
Louis and Otto, 48-9 ; distrusted 
by allies, 49. 

Arthur of Brittany, ousted by John, 
100; murdered, loi. 

Aspern-Essling, battle of and effect, 

383-4- 
Athanasius, controversy, 4. 
Athaulf, admiration of Roman 

system, 4. 
Atlantic, early discoveries, 190 ; 

Portuguese exploration, 192. 
Auerstadt, battle of, 381. 

453 



454 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 



Augsburg, Luther at Diet, 228 ; 
Recess of, 240, 246. Ferdinand 11. 
sets aside Recess, 280. 

Augustenburg, Duke of, claims to 
Holstein, 436-7. 

Augustine, in Britain, 6, 

Augustinian Eremites, their spiritu- 
ality, 217 ; joined by Luiher, 232 ; 
teaching work, 224. 

Aumale, Treaty of, 95. 

Austerlitz, battle of, 381. 

Austrasia, extent of, 15. 

Austria, Ost Mark, 59 ; first Haps- 
burg emperor, 145 ; Albert of 
Hapsburg, 149 ; marriage with 
Luxemburgs, 153 ; compact with 
Luxemburgs, 159-60; adoption of 
policy of Charles iv., 164; posses- 
sion of the empire, 218 ; division 
of Austrian and Spanish families, 
249 ; Richelieu attempts to over- 
throw, 301-3 ; struggle with Louis 
XIV. , 320-4 ; struggle with Hohen- 
zollerns, 330; war of Austrian Suc- 
cession, 337-40 ; diplomatic revolu- 
tion, 342-3 ; Seven Years' War, 
343-6; Partition of Poland, 348-50; 
attitude to France during Revolu- 
tion, 361 ; events leading toCampo 
Formio, 367-70; success in Italy, 
372; Marengo campaign, 374; 
creation of Austrian Empire, 379 ; 
Austerlitz, 379-80 ; struggle with 
Napoleon, 383-5 ; Quadruple Alli- 
ance, 391 ; interference in Italy, 
393 8 ; the Italian revolution, 401- 
3; Crimean War, 4067; events 
leading to Treaty of Zurich, 408-9 ; 
position in Germany after Congress 
of Vienna, 420-1 ; Revolution of 
1848-9, 428-30 ; growing antipathy 
to Prussia, 430-1 ; attempt to alter 
Constitution of Germany, 435-6 ; 
Schleswig-Holstein, 436-7; Seven 
Weeks' War, 437-8; Triple AlH- 
ance, 443. 

Avars, conquest of, 26-7. 

Avignon, papal residence, 147, 161. 

Arian heresy, 3, 6. 

Azores, discovered by Carthaginians, 
190 ; rediscovered by Portuguese, 
198 ; Columbus at, 199, 205. 



Babeque, cp. Jamaica. 
Babington, failure of plot, 266. 



Babylonish Captivity, commence- 
ment, 147 ; Charles iv. attempts to 
end, 161-2 ; end, 216. 

Balance of Power, attempted, 329- 
30. 

Balbo, Cesare, policy and connec- 
tion with Cavour, 399. 

Ban, Charlemagne's eightfold, 36. 

Barras, aids Napoleon, 366-7. 

Bastille, fall of, 360. 

Battle of the Fords, 52. 

Bavaria, conquered by sons of Clovis, 
7 ; revolt against Charlemagne, 
26-7 ; Wittelsbachs' family posses- 
sions, 150 ; Wittelsbachs' struggle 
with Luxemburgs, 150-1 ; family 
compact broken, 153 ; curbed by 
Golden Bull, 159 ; part in Thirty 
Years' War, 280-95 '• Richelieu in- 
trigues with, 303 ; claim to throne 
of Spain, 321 ; attitude in War of 
Austrian Succession, 338-40 ; alli- 
ance with Napoleon, 380; joins 
German Empire, 442. 

Baylen, defeat of Dupont, 382 ; shock 
to French prestige, 383. 

Beggars, the, revolt against Spain, 
267. 

Behaim, Martin, inventor of astrolabe, 
197. 

Belleisle, Count of, forms league 
against Maria Theresa, 338. 

Benedict ix. , pope, 61. 

X., pope, 68. 

Berengar of Tours, heresy, 66. 

Berlin, threatened by Gustavus 
Adolphus, 291 ; Treaty of, 422 ; 
Congress of, 443. 

Bernard, the Dane, protects Richard 
the Fearless, 44-5 ; summons the 
Danes, 46-7 ; influence on Richard, 

50- 

of Saxe-Weimar, at Liitzen, 

297 ; defeated at Nordlingen, 301. 

of Senlis, befriends Richard the 

Fe.uless, 46. 

Bilad Ghana, the land of wealth, 192. 

Bismarck, Otto Eduard Leopold von, 
family, 423-4 ; education, 424-5 ; 
administrative work, 425 ; visit to 
England, 426 ; country life, 427 ; 
early political life, 428 ; strong 
particularist, 429-30 ; member of 
Bundestag, 431 ; ambassador to 
Russia, 432 ; causes leading to his 
becoming minister, 433-4 ; opposi- 



INDEX 



455 



tion to Austria, 435 ; Schleswig- 
Holstein, 436-7 ; beven Weeks' 
War, 437-8 ; preparation for 
struggle with France, 439 ; Ems 
telegram, 440-1 ; Franco-Prussian 
War, 441 ; peace negotiations, 442 ; 
system of Alliances, 443 ; the 
Kulturkampf, 403-4 ; struggle with 
Socialists, 444-6 ; resignation and 
last years, 446-7 ; character and 
work, 447-51. 

Bisticci, Vespasiano da, contribution 
to Renaissance, 169. 

Black Death, effect on political situa- 
tion in Germany, 152. 

Bobadilla, arrests Columbus, 210. 

Bohemia, advance under Charles iv., 
153-5 ; ^^'^^ of Austrian Succession, 
340. 

Bohio, cp. Hispaniola. 

Bologna, School of Law, 90. 

Bonaparte, Charles, his history, 362. 

Jerome, King of Westphalia, 

381. 

Joseph, at Brienne, 362; King 

of Naples, 380; King of Spain, 
382 ; difficulties in Spain, 383-4. 

Letizia, influence on Napoleon, 

362. 

Louis, King of Holland, 380. 

— - Lucien, at i8th Brumaire, 372. 

Napoleon, cp. Napoleon I. 

Pauline, Princess Borghese, 379. 

Boniface, Archbishop, crowns Pippin, 

13- 

VIII., pope, issues bull Clericis 

Laicos, 146; captured, 147. 

Bora, Catherine, wife of Luther, 238 ; 
domestic difficulties, 243. 

Bordeaux, Treaty ending Fronde, 306. 

Brandenburg, The Alt Mark, 59 ; 
extinction of Ascanian branch, 149 ; 
ceded to Charles IV., 160 ; granted 
to Sigismund, 163 ; usurpation of 
jus episcopale, 217 ; wooed by 
Sweden, 281 ; attempts to remain 
neutral, 284 ; refuses to join 
Gustavus Adolphus, 289; disgusted 
by revocation of Edict of Nantes, 
318 ; early history and connection 
with Prussia, cp. Prussia, 330-2. 

Breitenfeldt, battle of, 291-2. 

Brumaire, revolution of i8th Brumaire, 
392. 

Bryce, Professor, epigram on Charles 
IV, , 156. 



Bucer, at Maiburg, 236 ; at Ratisbon, 
239-40. 

Bundestag, formation of, 420 ; weak- 
ness, 421 ; summoned by Austria 
to check Prussia, 430; Bismarck, 
minister at, 431-2 ; appealed to by 
Austria and Prussia before war, 
438. 



Cadiz, burned by English, 269. 

Cadoudal, Georges, plot, 377-8. 

Cambac^res, second consul, 373. 

Campeggio, organises Catholic 
League, 234. 

Campo Formio, Treaty of, 270 ; 
effect on Germany, 420. 

Canaries, rediscovered by Portuguese, 
192 ; Columbus starts from, 203 ; 
population, 204. 

Cape of Good Hope, reached by 
Carthaginians, 191 ; rounded by 
Diaz, 201. 

Cape St. Vincent, observatory at 
Sagres, 192. 

Capua, administrative capital of 
Naples, 126. 

Caracalla, Edict, i. 

Carbonari, work of, 394. 

Caribs, found at Azores, 199 ; de- 
scription of, 204. 

Carlstadt, Anabaptist leader, 233. 

Carloman, his reign, 14-6. 

Carlos, Don, birth, 249 ; madness, 
260-1 ; death, 271. 

Carranza, arrested by Inquisition, 
256. 

Carthaginians, voyages, 190. 

Castiglione, battle of, 369. 

Catherine ii. of Russia, influenced by 
Voltaire, 329 ; deposes her hus- 
band, 346 ; partition of Poland, 
348-50 ; idea of duty, 358. 

Catholic League, formation, 234 ; 
work, 235-6 ; Edict of Restitution, 
287 ; relation to Bavaria, 298. 

Cavour, Camillo Basso di, education, 
395 ; early years abroad, 396 ; 
returns to Italy, 397 ; newspaper 
articles, 398 ; the Risorgimenio, 
399-40; Piedmontese parliament, 
400-1 ; Custozza campaign, 401-2 ; 
political importance, 403-4 ; prime 
minister, 405-7 ; events leading to 
Villafranca, 408-9 ; the Sicilian 
Revolution, 410-1 ; Union of 



456 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 



Naples, 412 ; negotiations with 
Papacy, 413 ; attacked by Gari- 
baldi, 413-4; death, 414; char- 
acter and work, 414-8. 

Celestine iv., pope, 136. 

Cencius, attack on Gregory, 76. 

Chambres des Reunions, in Alsace, 
318. 

Chalcedon, Council of, 5. 

Charlemagne, emperor, character, 
15-6 ; education, 16 ; early difficul- 
ties, 17 ; policy, 18 ; Saxon wars, 
19-21 ; Lombardyand Papacy, 21-4; 
Spanish Campaign, 24-6 ; con- 
quest of Bavaria, 26-7 ; overthrow 
of Avars, 27-8 ; relations with Leo 
III., 28-9; restoration of empire, 
29-31 ; result of coronation, 31-2 ; 
Eastern Empire, 32 ; Danes, 33 ; 
administration, 34-6 ; tastes, 36-8; 
Louis XIV., 312; sword at 
Napoleon's coronation, 379 ; 
Napoleon, 389. 

Charles iv,, emperor, King of 
the Romans, 150; discredited, 
151 ; recognised, 152 ; work in 
Bohemia, 153-4 ; attitude to 
Papacy, 155 ; the Golden Bull, 
156-8 ; dynastic policy, 159-61 ; 
Babylonish Captivity, 161 ; Great 
Schism, 162 ; struggle with 
Leagues, 162 ; policy and char 
acter, 163-4 ; Brandenburg, 331. 

v., emperor, candidate for 

empire, 229 ; Luther at Worms, 
231-2 ; Italian politics, 236 ; Diet 
of Augsburg, 237 ; Diet of Ratis- 
bon, 239-40; attacks Lutherans, 
245-6; education of Philip II., 248; 
his policy, 249 ; bureaucracy in 
Spain, 250 ; marriage of Philip and 
Mary, 251 ; resignation, 252 ; effect 
of his reign on Spain, 254-5. 

VI., emperor, candidate for 

Spanish crown, 321-2 ; emperor, 
328; Pragmatic Sanction, 330; 
betrays Pre, deric William, 335. 

ofAnjou King of Sicily, 146. 

II. of England, in Louis' pay, 

315- 
II. of .Spain, succeeds to throne, 

312 ; succession question, 320-1. 
IX. of Sweden, usurps throne, 

275 ; campaign in Russia, 276 ; 

education of Gustavus Adolphus, 

279. 



Charles Albert of Carignano, educa- 
tion and policy, 383-5 ; afraid of 
Liberals, 397 ; in favour of railway 
expansion, 398 ; refuses Constitu- 
tion, 400; war with Austria, 
401-2. 

Martel, battle of Poictiers, 10. 

the Simple, grants Rouen to 

Normans, 41, 43. 

Archduke, opposes Napoleon 

in Italy, 369 ; at Wagram, 383. 

Chateau Gaillard, building, 100 ; 
capture, 102. 

Cherasco, armistice, 368. 

Childeric, last Meroving, 8. 

Christian iv. of Denmark, attempt 
to gain Gottenborg, 278 ; leader of 
Protestants, 284 ; defeat at Lutter, 
285. 

Chrysoloras, Manuel, in Italy, 
168-9. 

Cipango, or Japan, position on 
maps, 199 ; mistaken for Cuba by 
Columbus, 204. 

Cisalpine Republic, formation, 370 ; 
end, 379. 

Civitate, battle of, 67. 

Clair-sur-Epte, treaty of, 41. 

Clement 11., pope, crowns Henry 
III., 62 ; death, 64. 

• III., antipope, 80. 

• v. , pope, commences Babylon- 
ish captivity, 147. 

VI., interference with empire, 

150-1 ; friendship with Charles IV., 

153- 

VII., first schismatic pope, 162. 

Clovis, founds Prankish kingdom, 
6-7. 

Cluniacs, Bee, 56 ; growth of move- 
ment, 60-1 ; lay investiture contest, 

74- 
Coceji, reorganises Prussian law, 

341. 
Code Napoleon, introduction, 375 ; 

popularity, 387-392. 
Colba, cp. Cuba. 
Colbert, appreciation of Mazarin, 

308 ; succeeds Fouquet, 310 ; work, 

310-1. 
Columbus, Bartholomew, in England, 

200 ; founds San Domingo, 209-10 ; 

on fourth voyage, 21 1-2. 
Christopher, parentage, 193 ; 

education, 194; with Niccolo, 195 ; 

settles in Portugal, 196 ; voyages to 



INDEX 



457 



Guinea and Iceland, 197; com- 
munications with Behaim and 
Toscanelli, 197-8 ; plans discovery, 
199; in Spain, 200-2; first voyage, 
202-5; second, 206-9; third, 209- 
10; prisoner in Spain, 211; fourth 
voyage, 211-2; death, 212; 
criticism, 213-4, 

Columbus, Diego, in Hispaniola, 
207-8. 

Domenico, father of Christopher, 

192. 

Ferdinand, stories of his father, 

195, 197; birth, 201; on fourth 
voyage, 21 1-2. 

Niccolo, corsair, 194-5. 

Concordat, the, 375. 

Cond^, politics, 304 ; Lens, 305 ; joins 
Spaniards, 306 ; success in Franche 
Comt6, 313 ; in Dutch war, 314-5. 

Confederation of the Rhine, forma- 
tion, 380-1. 

Conrad iii., emperor, leads crusade, 
89. 

— — King of Romans proclaimed, 134. 

of Montferrat in Palestine, 98. 

Conradin, last Hohenstaufen, 146. 

Constance, Council of, end of Baby- 
lonish captivity, 216-7; Luther's 
opinion of, 232 ; early reformers, 

245- 

Empress, marriage, 117 ; death, 

118. 

Constans ii., kidnaps Pope Martin, 
12. 

Constantine I., changes seat of em- 
pire, 3. 

v., blinded, 29. 

Constantinople, foundation, 3; con- 
nection with Italy, 168 ; trade 
centre, 191 ; captured by Turks, 

193- 

Consulate, the, 373. 

Contarini, at Ratisbon, 239; evan- 
gelicals at Rome, 245. 

Continental system established, 381 ; 
broken up, 384. 

Convention, the, 366. 

Copenhagen, capture of Danish fleet, 
382. 

Corpus Evangelicorum, designed by 
Gustavus Adolphus, 298. 

Corsica, struggle with France, 362 ; 
Napoleon and the Revolution. 

363-5. 
Cortenuova, battle of, 135. 



Cotta, Frau, befriends Luther, 220-1. 

Counter Reformation, the, prepara- 
tion, 245-7; Philip II. leads, 272; 
success in seventeenth century, 274 ; 
underdirectionofHapsburgs, 280-1. 

Crecy, battle of, 150. 

Cremona, Diet of, 127. 

Crescimbeni, appreciation of Lor- 
enzo's poetry, 187. 

Crimean war, part played by Pied- 
mont, 406-7 ; attitude of Prussia, 
432. 

Cromwell, alliance with France, 307. 

Crusades, causes, 87-9 ; second, 89 ; 
third, 95-8; Barbarossa, n6 ; 
Damietta, 123; Frederic 11. 's suc- 
cess, 129-30; proposalatLyons, 137; 
effect on commerce, 190 ; proposed 
by Columbus, 202. 

Cuba, discovered by Columbus, 204 ; 
explored on second voyage, 207-8 ; 
Columbus' final resting-place, 213. 

Customs Union, origin in Prussia, 
423 ; Austria desires to join, 431-2 ; 
South German states admitted, 
437- 

Custozza, battle of, 402. 



Damasus II., pope, 64. 

Dante on Frederic ii., 132 ; influence 
on Renaissance, 187. 

Dantzig, attack by Gustavus Adol- 
phus, 284-5. 

Daun, opposed to Frederic the Great, 
344-6. 

d'Azegho, attitude to revolution in 
Naples, 400 ; proposes Cavour as 
minister, 404 ; resigns, 405. 

Decrees in Council, 382. 

Decretals of Gratian, forged, 90. 

D'Enghien, murder of, 378. 

Denmark, unrest, 33 ; the Danes, 
40-1 ; Danes in France, 43-6 ; 
seizure of Danish fleet by English, 
382 ; attempt to annex Schleswig- 
Holstein, 436-7. 

Desiderius, struggle with Charle- 
magne, 21-3. 

Dessau, Leopold of, Kesselsdorf, 
340; reprimanded by Frederic the 
Great, 356. 

Devolution, War of, 312-3. 

Diaz, Bartholomew, rounds Cape, 
201. 

Diet, organiser! by Maximilian, 218. 



45S LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 



Diocletian, reforms of, 2. 

Directory, establishment, 362 ; Vend6- 
miaire, 366; afraid of Napoleon, 
367-9; Egypt, 370-1 ; fall of, 372; 
greed, 392. 

Disputationes Catnaldnnenses, descrip- 
tion of Lorenzo de' Medici, 186-7. 

Disraeli, meeting with Bismarck, 434. 

Drake burns Lisbon, 266-7 j f^-i^s the 
second time, 269. 

Dresden, Treaty of, 340-1. 

Drogo, in Italy, 67. 

Dual alliance, formation, 443. 

Dudo, historian, 56. 



ECCELIN of Romano, alliance with 
Frederic ii. , 135; success against 
Lombard League, 137. 

Eck, John, of Ingolstadt, Obelisks, 
227; Leipzig disputation, 230; at 
Worms, 232. 

Edict of Restitution, effect of, 287 ; 
withdrawal, 293. 

Edward in., Hundred Years' War, 
148 ; refuses Imperial crown, 152. 

Eginhard, friend of Charlemagne, 
32. 

Egmont, leader of revolt in Nether- 
lands, 261-2. 

Egypt, Leibnitz suggests conquest, 
314 ; Napoleon in, 370-2 ; restored 
to Turkey, 375. 

Eisenach, Luther at school, 219-20. 

Electoral Prince of Bavaria, claim to 
Spanish throne, 321. 

Electors, origin of claims, 145 ; policy 
to emperor, 148 ; regularised by 
Golden Bull, 156-7. 

Elizabeth, Czarina, hates Frederic, 
342 ; effect of death, 346. 

of England, early attitude to 

Philip II., 257; struggle with 
Philip, 264-6. 

El-Karnil, negotiations with Frederic 
II., 130. 

Emma, afifianced to Richard the 
Fearless, 47-8 ; Richard's attitude 
to, 50 ; flies from Richard, 54. 

England, struggles for Continental 
possessions, 97-113; connection 
with Frederic 11., 134; Hundred 
Years' War, 148-52 ; visited by 
Columbus, 195 ; embassy of 
Bartholomew Columbus, 200 ; 



Wycliffe's influence, 215 ; threatens 
Netherlands, 249 ; Cateau-Cam- 
bresis, 254 ; capitulation at Leith, 
257 ; the Armada, 264-7 ; Thirty 
Years' War, 281 ; Triple Alliance 
against Louis xiv. , 313 ; revocation 
of Edict of Nantes, 318 ; under 
James ii., 319; War of League of 
Augsburg, 320 ; Partition Treaties, 
321-2 ; War of Spanish Succession, 
323-4; struggle for Colonial supre- 
macy, 336-7 ; \\'ar of Austrian Suc- 
cession, 338-40 ; Seven Years' 
War, 342-7 ; struggle with French, 
370-2; Peace of Amiens, 375; Con- 
tinental struggle to Tilsit, 379-81 ; 
Peninsular War, 382-3 ; friction 
with Prussia over colonies, 445-6. 

Enzio, captures General Council, 136; 
war against Lombard League, 
139-40. 

Erasmus, controversy with Luther, 
233 ; on Luther's marriage, 238 ; 
compared with Luther, 343. 

Eratosthenes, measurements of earth, 
191, 198. 

Erfurt University, 221 ; Luther and 
the Augustinians, 222 ; Luther re- 
ceives doctorate, 235 ; effect of, on 
Luther, 241 ; meeting of czar and 
Napoleon, 381. 

Eric, Duke of Friuli, storms Rhings, 
27. 

Escorial, building, 272. 

Este, Ercolo d', campaign against 
Florence, 174-5. 

Eudo, duke of Aquitaine, 10. 

Eugene de Beauharnais, marriage, 
381. 

Eylau, battle of, 3S1. 



Favre, peace negotiations, 442. 

Fecamp, foundation, 56. 

Ferdinand ii., emperor, struggle 

with Elector Palatine, 200 ; Edict 

of Restitution, 288 ; withdraws 

edict, 293. 
II. of Naples (Bomba), refuses 

Constitution, 400 ; cruelty, 407. 
of Spain, war with Moors, 

201 ; reception of Columbus, 201-2 ; 

at Barcelona, 206 ; mistrust of 

Columbus, 209, 211, 212 ; fosters 

national feeling, 253. 



INDEX 



459 



Ferrand of Portugal, claims to Flan- 
ders, 103 ; captured at Bouvines, 
104. 

Ferrante of Naples, interview with 
Lorenzo, 174 ; conspiracy against 
Lorenzo, 178-9 ; coalition against 
Florence, 1 80-1 ; appeals to France, 
183 ; admiration of Lorenzo, 
185. 

Feudalism, growth, 58. 

Ficino, Marsilio, friendship with 
Lorenzo de' Medici, 186. 

Flarcheim, battle of, 80. 

Fleurus, battle of, 361. 

Florence, geographical position, 166 ; 
Constitution, 170-1 ; coming of the 
Medici, 171-2 ; the Plain and 
Mountain, 173-5 ! "nder Lorenzo, 
175-186. 

Forchheim, deposition of Henry iv., 
80. 

Fox, negotiations with Napoleon, 
380. 

France, at time of Clovis, 7 ; Moslem 
invasion, 9-10 ; at time of Charle- 
magne, 14 ; under his successors, 
40 ; break up of Frankish king- 
dom, 42-57 ; growth in twelfth 
century, 91-2 ; under Philip 
Augustus, 93-113 ; Hundred Years' 
War, 147-52 ; interference m Italy, 
183; intrigues with Schmalkaldic 
League, 245-6 ; Cateau-Cambr^sis, 
254; Catherine de' Medici, 257; 
the Guises, 265-6 ; Henry iv. , 269 ; 
in sixteenth century, 301; Richelieu, 
302-3 ; under Louis xiv. 304-28 ; 
struggle for colonies, 336 ; War of 
Austrian Succession, 338-40 ; events 
leading to Revolution, 358-61 ; 
under Napoleon, 362-90 ; after 
Congress of Vienna, 391-2 ; inter- 
ference in Spain, 394 ; alliance with 
Piedmont, 408-9; Franco- Prussian 
War, 439-442 ; Dual Alliance, 

443-. 
Francis I. of France, candidate for 
Empire, 229; Schmalkaldic League, 

237- 
ir. , emperor, struggle to retain 

Lombardy, 368-9 ; ends Holy 

Roman Empire, 379. 
II. of Naples, end of kingdom 

of Naples, 410-12. 
Franco-Prussian War, as regards 

Italy, 414 ; war and result, 438-2. 



Frankfort, Diet of, 149 ; Imperial 
elections, 157; Bundestag, 420; 
Bismarck at, 431. 
Franks, rise and fall, 6-8 ; possessions 

at time of Charlemagne, 14. 
Frederic I., emperor (Barbarossa), 
reasserts empire, 91 ; indignant 
reply to Romans, 115; struggle 
with Papacy and Lombard League, 
116-7. 

II. , emperor, backed by Philip 

Augustus, 105; childhood, 118; 
character, 119; degradation, 119- 
21 ; ward of Papacy, 120 ; invades 
Germany, 121 ; opportunist policy, 
122 ; disobeys pope, 123 ; builds up 
power in the south, 124-6 ; the 
crusades, 127-130; reconciliation 
with Papacy, 131 ; University of 
Naples, 132-3 ; difficulties in Ger- 
many, 133-4 ; the Lombard League, 
134-5 ; capture of General Council, 
136 ; deposed by Innocent iv. , 137- 
8 ; civil war in Italy and Germany, 
138-9 ; death, 140 ; character and 
work, 140-3 ; last descendant of 
Otto the Great, 145. 

I. of Prussia, policy, 331-2. 

II. (The Great) of Prussia, in- 
fluenced by Voltaire, 329; education, 
333 ; ill treatment, 324 ; marriage, 
335; his accession, 336; War of 
Austrian Succession, 337-40 ; ad- 
ministrative schemes, 341 ; quarrel 
with Voltaire, 341-2; the Seven 
Years' War, 342-6 ; causes of his 
success, 346-7 ; reorganisation of 
country, 347-8 ; the Partition of 
Poland, 348-50 ; struggle with 
Joseph II., 351-2; cliaracter and 
work, 352-7 ; idea of liberty, 358. 

the Wise, of Saxony, founds 

University of Wittenberg, 224 ; at 
Diet of Augsburg, 228 ; receives 
Golden Rose, 229 ; deports Luther 
to Wanburg, 232 ; converted by 
Luther, 234. 

IX., Elector Palatine, seizes 

Bohemia, 281 ; character, 283. 

William I. of Prussia, aims, 332 ; 

education of Frederic the Great, 
333-4 ; hatred of Austria, 335. 

II. of Prussia, character, 

353 ; interferes in France, 361. 

III. of Prussia, dominated 

by Metternich, 422. 



46o LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 



Frederic William iv. of Prussia, re- 
fuses Constitution, 427; meetingwith 
Bismarck, 428 ; refuses title of 
Emperor of the Germans, 429 ; 
resignation, 432. 

Friars, foundation, 107 ; upholders of 
Papacy, 215 ; preach against 
Frederic ii., 128, 135 ; reformation 
in sixteenth century, 217 ; the Capu- 
chins, 247. 

Friedland, battle of, 381. 

Fronde, war of, 305-6. 

Fiirstenbund, Confederation of 
Princes, 352. 



Gama, Vasco da, voyage to India, 
211. 

Gambetta, peace negotiations, 442. 

Gardie, de la, military tutor of 
Gustavus Adolphus, 277 ; in 
Russia, 279. 

Garibaldi, return to Italy, 399 ; at 
Rome, 403 ; in Piedmontese army, 
408 ; Sicilian Expedition, 410-2 ; 
attack on Cavour, 413-4. 

Gastein, Convention of, 437. 

Genoa, commercial prosperity, 165 ; 
ceded to Piedmont, 393. 

George, Duke of Saxony, calls Luther 
a heretic, 230 ; joins Catholic 
League, 236. 

William of Brandenburg, dislikes 

Swedish Alliance, 282 ; territories 
violated, 284; Treaty of Stuhms- 
dorf, 286 ; attempts to remain 
neutral, 289-91 ; retrospect, 331. 

Germanic Confederation, establish- 
ment of, 391, 419. 

Germany, under Charlemagne, 14 ; 
under his successors, 40 ; Otto the 
Great, 52 ; connection with Italy, 
59-62; boyhoodof Henry IV., 71-2 ; 
under Henry iv., 79-82; civil war, 
87 ; under Barbarossa, 91 ; last 
struggle of Hohenstaufen, 114-43; 
the lesser emperors, 145-50 ; under 
Charles IV,, 150-64; religious dis- 
turbance, 216; Maximilian, 218; 
the Reformation, 219-40; Charles 
V. , 265-7 ; Hundred Years' War, 
280-307,374; League of Augsburg, 
319-20 ; Frederic the Great, 333-52 ; 
Lun^ville and Campo Formio, 374- 
79 ; struggle with Napoleon, 380-5 ; 
serfdom, 389; revolutionary spirit, 



392 ; cause of slow growth, 414 ; 
Revolution of, 1848-9, 428-30 ; 
proclamation of empire at Ver- 
sailles, 442 ; Bismarck's work, 447- 

9- 

Ghibellines, origin, 117; drive pope 
from Rome, 129; aid Frederic II., 
135; disgusted with Charles iv., 
155; struggle in Florence, 170. 

Gioberti, leader of Illuminati, 399 ; 
premier, 403. 

GiraldusCambrensis, on French kings, 
no. 

Gladstone, on Bomba, 417. 

Godfrey of Lotharingia, stepfather of 
Countess Matilda, 68. 

Golden Bull, reform, 156-9 ; dis- 
regarded by Charles iv., 161-3 ; 
result of, 2i8. 

Gomez, Ruy, fails to arrange Philip's 
marriage, 251 ; character, 271. 

Granvelle, unpopular in Netherlands, 
261. 

Great Elector, the, of Prussia, policy, 

331- 

Great Schism, commencement, 162 ; 
end, 216. 

Gregory i. , pope, establishes prestige 
of Papacy, 6. 

III., pope, cause of alliance with 

Franks, 12-3. 

V. , pope, 60. 

VI., pope, buys Papacy, 62; 

patron of Hildebrand, 63 ; in exile, 
64. 

VII., pope, cp. Hildebrand. 

IX. , pope, difficulties with 

Frederic 11., 127-131 ; joins Lom- 
bard League, 135-6. 

XI., pope, 162. 

Guanahani, Columbus' landfall, 203-4, 
211. 

Guelf, origin, 117; opposition to 
Frederic 11., 134; capture of 
Parma, 139 ; struggle in Florence, 
170. 

Guise, Duke of, opposes Catherine de' 
Medici, 257 ; assassination, 268. 

Gustavus Adolphus, influence on 
Germany, 274; education, 276-8; 
war with Denmark, 278 ; war with 
Russia, 279 ; diplomatic marriage, 
281-2 ; army reforms, 282-3 ; ne- 
gotiations with James I., 283-4; 
victory of Wallhoff, 284 ; courage, 
285 ; commercial reforms, 286 ; 



INDEX 



461 



preparations for war in Germany, 
288-9 ; Treaty with Richelieu, 290 ; 
fall of Magdeburg, 291 ; battle of 
Breitenfeldt, 291-2 ; occupation of 
the Main valley, 293 ; check at 
Nuremberg, 294 ; battle of Liitzen, 
295-7 ; character and work, 297- 
300. 
Guy of Lusignan, King of Jerusalem, 
98. 

Hadrian l, pope, intrigues against 
Lombards, 21-2 ; calls in Charle- 
magne, 22-3 ; death, 28. 

IV., pope, on the Papacy 

and empire, 115. 

Hanover, War of Austrian Succession, 
337-40 ; Seven Years' War, 343-5 ; 
coveted by Prussia, 380 ; annexed 
by Prussia, 428. 

Hanseatic League, in thirteenth cen- 
tury, 144 ; \var with Denmark, 162 ; 
jealousy of Sweden, 276, 281. 

Hapsburgs, cp. Austria. 

Harold Blaatand, supposed to be, 
47 ; aids Richard the Fearless, 

52-3- 

Haroun-al-Raschid, friendship with 
Charlemagne, 34. 

Harrison, Frederic, appreciation of 
Cavour, 417. 

Hauteville, rise of house of, 57 ; con- 
quests in Italy, 67. 

Heilbronn, League of, effect of, 298, 

301. 303. 
Henry i. the Fowler, ability, 58. 

III., emperor, suppresses Civil 

War, 61 ; attitude to Papacy, 62, 
65 ; death, 68. 

IV. , emperor, minority, 68 ; 

guardians, 79 ; character, 74-5 ; 
question of investiture, 75-6 ; events 
leading to Canossa, 77-9 ; sets up 
antipope, 80. 

VI., emperor, strong position 

and ambitions, 117-8. 

King of the Romans, birth, 120 ; 

elected, 122 ; opposes his father, 
133-4. 

II. of England, meeting with 

Louis VII. , 93 ; helps Philip Augus- 
tus, 94-5 ; Philip Augustus aids his 
rebel sons, 95-6. 

VIII. of England, candidate for 

empire, 229 ; Defender of the Faith, 
238. 



Henry, the Lion, opposition to Hohen- 

staufen, 103, 113. 
of Luxemburg, emperor, policy, 

148. 

of Thuringia, created King of 

the Romans, 138, 

of Navarre, heir to France, 268 ; 

becomes a Catholic, 269 ; his work, 
302. 

the navigator, aid to explorers, 

192-3. 

Herstal, quarrel with Prussia, 331. 

Hieromax, battle of, 9. 

Hildebrand, parentage, 62 ; friend of 
Gregory vi., 63-4; Archdeacon of 
Rome, 65 ; Berengar heresy, 66 ; 
influence, 67 ; papal election rules, 
69 ; Norman Alliance, 70 ; Anselm, 
71 ; becomes pope, 72 ; difficulties, 
73 ; investiture quarrel, 74-80 ; 
struggle in Italy, 81-2 ; last days, 
82-3 ; character and work, 83-6 ; 
crusades, 88 ; temporal power, 114. 

Hispaniola, discovery, 204 ; origin 
of name, 205 ; under Columbus' 
government, 207, 209-10 ; Colum- 
bus forbidden to visit, 211. 

Hohenstaufen, ambitions, 116, 118; 
struggle with Papacy, 141 ; fall, 
165. 

Hohenzollern,cp. Prussia. 

Sigmaringen, Leopold of, candi- 
date for Spanish crown, 440-1. 

Holland, struggle with Philip, 264-5 > 
jealous of Sweden, 281 ; the 
Triple Alliance, 313 ; war with 
France, 314-5 ; attitude to French 
Revolution, 361 ; under Louis 
Bonaparte, 380; joined to Nether- 
lands, 391. 

Honduras, discovery, 211. 

Honorius ii., antipope, 71-2. 

III., pope, struggle with Fred- 
erick II,, 122-3, 127. 

Horn, leads revolt in Netherlands, 
122-6. 

Hubertsburg, Treaty of, 346. 

Hugh Capet, King of France, 512. 

Duke of Paris, duke, 42 ; 

hostility to Normans, 43, 46-7 ; 
alliance with Richard the Fearless, 
47-9; death, 51. 

Duke of Burgundy, punished, 

95- 
Huguenots, St. Bartholomew, 264 ; 
Henry of Navarre, 268-9 • political 



462 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 



aspirations, 302 ; need of super- 
vision, 306; attempted conversion, 
311; punished, 314 ; revocation of 
Edict of Nantes, 317. 

Hundred Years' War, chivalry, 145 ; 
origin, 148 ; Crecy, 150 ; Germany, 
152. 

Huss, contribution to Reformation, 
215-6 ; Luther's advantage over, 
241. 



Iceland, Columbus in, 197. 

lUuminati, policy, 399. 

Imago Mundi, studied by Columbus, 
197-8. ^ , 

' Importants, Les, opposition to 
Mazarin, 304. 

India, trade routes, 191 ; reached by 
da Gama, 211. 

Indulgence, doctrine of, 226; Tetzel's, 
227. 

Ingeborg, cause of quarrel between 
Philip Augustus and Papacy. loi, 
105-6. 

Innocent ill., pope, asks help against 
John, 103 ; takes part of Ingeborg, 
105-6 ; despatches St. Dominic to 
Toulouse, 107 ; guardian of Fred- 
eric II., 118; attitude to Frederic, 
121 ; greatness, 141. 

IV., pope, struggle with Fred- 
eric II., 136-7, 138-9. 

VI., pope, opposes Golden Bull, 

158. 

Inquisition, in Spain, 247, 256 ; in 
Netherlands, 262. 

Intendants, organised by Louis xiv. , 

325- 
Investiture, contest, commencement 

of, 74. 

Irene, Empress, deposes Constans, 
29 ; deposed, 32. 

Irnerius, law school at Bologna, 90. 

Isabella of Spain, helps Columbus, 
201 ; dislike of slave trade, 209 ; 
death, 212. 

Isidore, on battle of Poictiers, 10. 

Italy, Lombard invasion, 5 ; at time 
of Charlemagne, 14; Charlemagne's 
influence, 22-4 ; evil of connection 
with Germany, 59-62 ; the Nor- 
mans, 66-7, 70 ; Civil War, 87 ; 
struggle between Hohenstaufen 
and Papacy, 114-143 1 growth of 



democratic ideas, 144 ; Charles iv. 
breaks connection, 154-5 ; the 
Renaissance, 165-70; under the 
Medici, 170-89 ; the Revolution, 
361 ; campaign, 1796, 367-9 ; 
Napoleon in Italy, 370; Marengo, 
374 ; Napoleonic kings of Naples, 
379-80; popularity of Napoleonic 
system, 389 ; pleas for emancipa- 
tion, 401 ; Cavour's hopes, 402 ; 
part played in Seven Weeks' War, 
437-8 ; Triple AUiance, 443. 
Ivo of Chartres, canon law, 90. 



Jacobins, appearance, 361 ; joined 
by Napoleon, 364-5, 

Jamaica, discovery, 204-5 J Colum- 
bus' visits, 207, 212. 

James i. of England, plots on his 
behalf, 265-6 ; negotiations on 
behalf of Sweden, 278-9 ; Protest- 
ant union, 281 ; help for Elector 
Palatine, 283-4. 

II. of England, relations with 

France, 319 ; death, 333. 

Jena, battle of, 381. 

Jerusalem, captured by Seljuks, 80 ; 
Latin kingdom of, 89-90 ; Fred- 
eric II. at, 130 ; captured by 
Charismians, 137. 

Jesuits, foundation, 247. 

Joachim, Abbot, prophecies about 
Frederic li., 138, 140. 

John xii., pope, crowns Otto the 
Great, 58, 59. 

of Bohemia, life, 149-50 ; com- 
pared with Charles iv., 153. 

of Brienne, connection with 

Frederic 11., 127, 131. 

Don, of Austria, commands 

against Moriscoes, 259; at Lepanto, 
260 ; in Netherlands, 261. 

of England, conspires against 

Richard, 99; struggle with France, 
100-2 ; with Papacy, 103; Bouvines, 
103-4. 

George, Elector of Saxony, 

desires neutrality, 289-91; joins 
Gustavus Adolphus, 291-4 ; at 
Liitzen, 296 ; peace with emperor, 
301. 

Joseph II., influenced by Voltaire, 
329 ; King of Romans, 346 ; meet- 
ing with Frederic, 349 ; grandiose. 



INDEX 



463 



schemes, 351-2 ; idea of duty, 

358. 
Josephine de Beauharnais, marriage 

with Napoleon, 366-7 ; unfaithful, 

372 ; divorced, 383. 
Julius I., work, 5. 

II., Giuliano della Rovere, 216. 

Justinian, reconquest of Italy, 4. 



Kalmar, Union of, 275. 
Knarod, Peace of, 278. 
Koniggriitz, battle of, 438. 
Kotzebue, assassination, 421. 
Kulturkanipf, struggle, 443-4. 



Laibach, Conference of, 394. 
Laon, last Frankish stronghold, 44, 

45. 47- 
Landino Cristoforo, tutor of Lorenzo 

de' Medici, 173 ; Disputationes 

Camaldunenses, 186, 
Langued'oc, 108. ' 
Langued'oil, 108. 
Launay, de, reorganises Prussian 

finances, 347-8, 
La Vendue revolt, 366, 373. 
Legion of Honour, established, 376. 
Legitimacy, doctrine of, 392. 
Leo, the Isaurian, defeats Moslems, 

II ; iconoclastic decrees, 12, 

III., pope, gives empire to 

Charlemagne, 30-31. 

IX. , idea of Papacy, 64-5 ; checks 

abuses, 65-6 ; death, 67. 

X., attitude to Luther, 227-9. 

Leoben, armistice of, 369. 

Leopold I., emperor, Spanish Succes- 
sion question, 321. 

II., emperor, interferes- in 

France, 311. 

Lepanto, battle of, 259-60. 
Lessing, on Frederic the Great, 355. 
Le Tellier, estimate of Louis xiv, , 

308 ; secretary for war, 309. 
Liber Pontificalis, alleged grant of 

Charlemagne, 23. 
'Lit de Justice,' Mazarin decrees, 305. 
Liutprand, Lombard king, 12-3. 
Lodi, battle of, 368. 
Lombard League, origin, 117, 124; 

struggle with Frederic 11., 134-9. 
Lombards, invasion, 5 ; quarrels with 

Papacy, 12-4. 
Lombardy, cp. Milan. 



Lorraine, after Westphalia, 307 ; 

after Nimeguen, 314 ; attempted 

annexation by Louis xiv, , 318; 

ceded to Prussia, 442. 
Lothaire, king, attempts to get 

possession of Hugh Capet, 51-2 ; 

defeated, 52-3. 
Loudon, opposed to Frederic the 

Great, 345-6. 
Louis, the Pious Emperor, in Spain, 

25-6 ; unsuccessful reign, 39. 
d'Outremer, king, privy to 

murder of Longsword, 42-4 ; 

schemes against Richard the Fear- 
less, 45-7 ; alliance with Otto, 48-9 ; 

death, 51. 
v., last Carolingian in France, 

54- 
VII., on crusade, 89; builds up 

his power, 91-3. 
IX., St., remonstrates with pope, 

138. 

XIV,, early years, 304; the 

Fronde, 305-6 ; Mazarin's influ- 
ence, 306 ; Spanish marriage, 307 ; 
ideas of kingship, 308-9 ; Colbert's 
work, 310-1 ; his vanity, 312 ; 
scheme to get Spain, 312-3 ; the 
path of conquest, 314 ; Dutch 
War, 315-6; religious questions, 
316-8 ; League of Augsburg, 318- 
9 ; War, 320 ; Partition Treaties, 
321-2 ; Spanish Succession War, 
323 ; family bereavements, 324 ; 
his works and its results, 325-8, 

XVI,, character, 358-9; 

Napoleon's criticism, 364, 

the Bavarian, emperor, alien- 
ates clergy and subjects, 149-50 ; 
civil war, 151-2. 

of Brandenburg, struggle with 

Charles iv., 151-3. 

Louvois, minister of war, 309 ; policy, 
314 ; Dragonnades, 317 ; succeeded 
by his son, 320. 

Lowe, Sir Hudson, hated by 
Napoleon, 386. 

Loyola, Ignatius, founds Jesuits, 247. 

Lugenfeldt, Field of Lies, 39, 

Lun^ville, Peace of, 324. 

Luther, birth, 218 ; boyhood, 219- 

221 ; becomes Augusiinian monk, 

222 ; theological difficulties, 223 ; 
Wittenberg and Rome, 224-5 ; 
Professor of Theology, 225-6; 
Thesis against Indulgences, 227 ; 



464 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 



at Augsburg, 228 ; raises question 
of papal infallibility, 230 ; under 
ban of empire, 232 ; opposes 
Anabaptists, 233 ; opposed to 
Peasant Rising, 235 ; opposed to 
Zwinglians, 236 ; Schmalkaldic 
League, 237 ; marriage, 238-9 ; 
refuses accommodation of Ratis- 
bon, 239-40 ; death, 240 ; char- 
acter and work, 241-4. 

Liitzen, battle of, 295-7. 

Luxemburgs, Henry vii., 149; 
possessions, 150 ; Bohemia, 153. 

Luxemburg, attempted annexation 
by Napoleon in., 439. 

Lyons, Council of, 137-8. 



Maassen, Von, founder of Customs 

Union, 423. 
Mack, surrenders at Ulm, 380. 
Magdeburg, Luther at, 219-220; 

expels Catholics, 289 ; sack, 291. 
Magenta, battle of, 408. 
Magyars, invade Europe, 41-2, 
Mahmoud of Ghazni, conquests, 87. 
Maintenon, Madame de, origin, 315 ; 

influence over Louis xiv. , 317 ; 

care of Louis, 325. 
Malta, threatened by Turks, 257-8 ; 

restored at Amiens, 375. 
Manfred, seizes Sicily, 146. 
Manifestacion, claimed by Perez, 268. 
Mantua, siege of, 369. 
Manzikert, battle of, 88. 
Marengo, battle of, 374. 
Margaret of Parma, in Netherlands, 

261-3. 

the Union Queen, 275. 

Maria Theresa, refuses to give up 

Silesia, 337 ; War of Austrian 

Succession, 338-40 ; Seven Years' 

War, 343-4; Partition of Poland, 

35°- 

wife of Louis xiv, , 307. 

Marie Louise, married to Napoleon, 

383. 
Markwald of Anvveiler, in Sicily, 

118-9. 
Marozia, mother of popes, 59. 
Martin ii., pope, kidnapped, 12. 
v., pope, partitions New 

World, 206. 
Mary of England, marriage with 

Philip II., 252. 
Mary Stuart, struggle with Eliza- 



beth, 357 ; plots against Elizabeth, 

264-7. 
Mass^na, Italian campaign, 1794, 

365; Zurich, 372; siege of Genoa, 

374- 
Matilda, Countess, supports Nicolas 

II., 68-9; upholds Hildebrand, 

73, 78 ; interview with Henry 

IV., 79; founds law school at 

Bologna, 90 ; grants estates to 

Church, 116. 
Maupertuis, ridiculed by Voltaire, 342. 
Maurice ofSaxony, deserts Charles v. , 

245-6. 
Maximilian i., emperor, attempts to 

reform empire, 218 ; defends 

Luther, 228 ; death, 229. 
of Bavaria, Tilly's master, 287 ; 

in Thirty Years' War, 293-4. 
Mayors of the Palace, importance of, 

7-8. 
Mazarin, Cardinal, selected by 

Richelieu, 303 ; unpopular, 304 ; 

the Fronde, 305-6 ; influence over 

Louis XIV., 306 ; policy, 307 ; work 

and pupils, 308-9 ; disappearance 

of his pupils, 320. 
Mazzini, founds 'Young Italy,' 394- 

5 ; mistrusted by Cavour, 396 ; 

his party, 399 ; in Milan, 402 ; at 

Rome, 403 ; connection with the 

' Thousand,' 410-1. 
Medici, Catherine de', struggle with 

Philip II., 257, 
Cosmo de', his career, 171-3. 

Giovanni de', brought up as 

Cardinal, 188. 

Giuliano de', death, 179-180. 

Lorenzo de', education, 173 ; 

political training, 174-6 ; arrogance, 
177 ; struggle with pope, 178-81 ; 
Riario conspiracy, 179-80; journey 
to Naples, 181 ; reorganises consti- 
tution, 182 ; dread of foreign inter- 
vention, 183; sourcesofwealth, 183- 
4 ; patron of letters, 184-5 '< his 
friends, 186-7 ; poetic gifts, 187 ; 
character and work, 188-9. 

Piero de', career, 170-3. 

Salvestrode', inaugurates family, 

policy, 171. 

Medina Sidonia, Duke of, befriends 
Columbus, 201. 

responsible for failure of 

Armada, 267 ; report on Cadiz, 269, 

Melanchthon, lectures on St. Paul, 



n 



INDEX 



465 



232 ; sees Luther's faults, 235 ; 
at Marburg, 236; at Augsburg, 
237; at Ratisbon, 240; Philip of 
Hesse's marriage, 242. 
Merovings, family failure, 7. 
Metternich, with Napoleon at 
Dresden, 390 ; Italian policy, 393 ; 
Fhes to London, 401 ; Carlsbad 
decrees, 421 ; dominates Germany, 
422. 
Michael Caerulius, Patriarch of Con- 
stantinople, 67. 
— — Romanoff, founds family, 279. 
Michelet, on Louis xiv., 328. 
Milan, head of Lombard League, 
117, 124, 134-9; under Visconti, 
i6i ; overlord of Genoa, 165 ; 
attitude to Florence, 180-3; 
granted to Philip 11., 249 ; at break 
up of Spanish Empire, 321-4 ; 
conquered by Napoleon, 368-9; 
given to Austria, 393 ; struggle 
with Austria, 401-2. 
Millesimo, battle of, 368. 
Miltitz, Von, attempts to conciliate 

Luther, 229-30. 
Mirabeau.failstocurb Revolution, 360. 
Mirandola, Giovanni Pico della, 

philosopher, 186. 
Minorca, seized by French, 343. 
Missi, origin, 17; restore Leo iii., 

30 ; under Charlemagne, 35. 
Mohammed, founds religion, 8-9. 
Mohammedans, conquer Persia, 9 ; 
defeated at Poictiers, lo ; defeated 
by Leo the Isaurian, 11; pos- 
sessions at time of Charlemagne, 
14 ; capture Constantinople, 193 ; 
struggle with Philip 11. in Medi- 
terranean, 357-60. 
Molhvitz, battle of, 337-8. 
Moltke.Von, Seven Weeks' War, 438 ; 
Ems telegram, 440-1 ; desires war 
m 1876, 443. 
Mongols, mvasion, 136-7. 
Montenotte, battle of, 368. 
Montesecco, Giovanni Battesta da, 
attempts to murder Lorenzo de' 
Medici, 179-81, 
Montfort, Simon de, conquers Albi- 
genses, 108-9. 

Simon de, in Italy, 126. 

Moore, Sir John, in Spain, 382. 
Moors, cross into Spain, 147 ; African 
trade, 191-2 ; driven out of Spain, 



2G 



Moreau, at Hohenlinden, 374; 

banished to America, 378. 
Moriscoes, treatment by Philip ii 

258-9. 
Moscow, retreat from, 384. 
Motley, friendship with Bismarck, 

425 ; appreciation of Bismarck, 431. 
Moxica, de, rebellion, 211. 
Miihlberg, battle of, 246. 
Murat, King of Naples, 382 ; deserts 

Napoleon, 384. 
Muret, battle of, 108. 

Naples, Norman Conquest, 66-7, 
117; university, 132; two Sicilies, 
146; reunion, 166; alliance with 
Florence and Milan, 172 ; war 
against Florence, 180-1 ; war with 
Spain, 209 ; attached to Spain, 
249 ; Joseph and Murat, 382 ; 
revolution, 393-4; Bomba, 400, 
407 ; joined to Piedmont, 410-2. 

Napoleon i., compared to Frederic 
ir., 142; his dictum, 274; early 
years, 362 ; artillery training, 363 ; 
revolution in Corsica, 364 ; Toulon, 
365 ; Venddmiaire, 366 ; Italian 
campaign, 367-9; struggle with 
Directory, 370; Egyptian cam- 
paign, 371-2; coup d'aat of 
Brumaire, 372-3; Marengo, 374; 
policy after Amiens, 375 ; Legion 
of Honour, 376 ; rupture of Amiens, 
377 ; murder of d'Enghien, 378 ; 
emperor, 378-9; Austerhtz and 
Jena, 380-1 ; Spain, 382 ; Wagram, 
383 ; Russian campaign, 384 ; 
abdication, 385; Hundred Days, 
385-6 ; St. Helena, 386 ; character 
and work, 386-90. 

— — III., president, 405 ; events lead- 
ing to Villafranca, 408-9 ; advice to 
Cavour, 411 ; interference after 
Koniggratz, 438; struggle with 
Bismarck, 439 ; Franco-Prussian 
War, 440-2. 

Prince, marriage with Princess 

Clotilde, 408. 

Necker, advice refused by Louis XVi., 
359- 

Nelson, Trafalgar, 377-8. 

Netherlands, importance to Charles 
v., 249; Philip II, in, 251-3; re- 
voh, 261-5; War of Devolution, 
312-3 ; barrier fortresses, 315 ; war 
of League of Augsburg, 320. 



466 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 



Neustria, kingdom of, 7, 15. 

Ney, refuses to obey Napoleon, 385. 

Nice, transferred to France, 408-10. 

Nicolas II., pope, work, 69-71. 

Nile, battle of, 371. 

Nimeguen, Treaty of, 315. 

Nina, with Columbus, 202, 203, 
205. 

Normans, gain Rouen, 41 ; the 
Cotentin, 43; struggle to establish 
themselves in France, 43-57 ; con- 
quests in Italy, 66-7 ; relations with 
Papacy, 73, 82, 117. 

North German Confederation, forma- 
tion, 438-9 ; attitude to southern 
states, 441-2. 

Novara, first battle of, 394 ; second 
battle of, 403. 

Niirnberg, Diet, 157 ; peace of, 238 ; 
siege of, 294. 



Odilo, founder of Clugny, 63. 

Offa, connection with Charlemagne, 
28. 

Ojeda, in Hispaniola, 207, 208 ; with 
Vespucci, 210. 

Olmiitz, Congress of, 430. 

Osmond, tutor to Richard the Fearless, 
46, 50. 

Otto I., opposes Normans, 48-9; 
emperor, 58-9 ; wars, 60. 

IV. , Bouvines, 103-4 ; watched 

by Philip Augustus, 108 ; elected 
emperor by pope, 118 ; adopts 
Hohenstaufen policy, 120. 

Oxenstyerna, Prussian marriage, 281 ; 
on Gustavus' commercial policy, 
286 ; on his idea of defending 
Sweden, 287 ; in South Germany, 
295 ; League of Heilbronn, 298-301. 



Paderborn, in Saxon campaigns, 
19, 24, 29. 

Palos, Columbus' starting-point, 202 ; 
Columbus returns to, 206. 

Paoli, idol of Napoleon, 362 ; quarrels 
with Napoleon, 314-5. 

Papacy, foundation, 5-6 ; alliance 
with Franks, 8, 13; relation to 
Eastern Empire, lo-ii ; missionary 
spirit, 13; position in Charlemagne's 
empire, 36 ; degradation, 42, 59-60 ; 
under Saxon emperors, 60-2 ; the 
Hildebrandine position, 66, 69-70, 



74, 84 ; effect of study of law, 90 ; 
struggle with Philip Augustus, 104 ; 
strength and prestige, 114-17 ; 
struggle with Frederic 11., 129-43; 
causes of fall, 145-51 ; temporal 
power, 162, 165-6 ; beginning of 
Reformation, 215-6; early attitude 
to Luther, 227-31 ; Counter 
Reformation, 245-7 ; struggle with 
Louis XIV,, 318; Concordat with 
Napoleon, 375-6; struggle with 
Piedmont, 404-5 ; refuses to recog- 
nise Italian kingdom, 413; struggle 
with Kulturkampf, 443-4. 

Pappenheim, storm ol Magdeburg, 
291 ; Breitenfeldt, 292 ; Liitzen, 
295-6. 

Paris, under dukes, 43, 49 ; beautified 
by Philip Augustus, 212 ; Congress 
of, 407 ; surrender of, 442. 

Parlement, opposition to Mazarin, 
304 ; the Fronde, 305-6 ; loss of 
power, 325 ; resists reform, 359. 

Parliament, growth in thirteenth cen- 
tury, 126, 144. 

Parma, siege of, 139, 

Duke of, in Netherlands, 264 ; 

Armada, 267 ; success in France, 
269. 

Partition of Poland, 348-51. 

Partition Treaty, between Louis xiv. 
and William ill., 321-2. 

Paul II., 175. 

III., character, and Council of 

Ratisbon, 239-40 ; Council of Trent, 
246. 

IV., dislike of Spain, 253.4. 

Pavia, siege of, 22-3. 

Pazzi, plot against Medici, 178-9. 

Peasant Rising, Luther's attitude to, 

235- 
Penance, Doctrine of, Luther finds 

unsatisfactory, 223; Roman doc- 
trine of, 226. 
Perez, betrays Philip, 268 ; proposed 

murder, 271. 
Persano, Admiral, Cavour's orders to, 

411. 
Peter Damiani, on Hildebrand, 84. 
Peter de Vinea, administrative work, 

125-6 ; death, 139-40. 
Peter the Hermit, preaches crusade, 

87. 
Petrarch, meeting with Charles iV., 

158 ; his school of thought, 167-8 ; 

copied by Lorenzo de' Medici, 187. 



INDEX 



467 



Philip, emperor, marriage, 117; elec- 
ted emperor, 118; assassinated, 
120. 

Augustus, birth, 92 ; marriage, 

93; under influence of Henry ii., 
94 ; conspires with Henry's sons, 
95-6 ; on crusade, 97-8 ; war against 
Richard, 99-100; success against 
John, 100-2 ; Bouvines, 103-4 ; 
divorce struggle, 104-6 ; Albigensian 
crusade, 107-8 ; papal offer of 
England to his son, 109-10 ; his 
character and work, 109-14 ; his 
successors, 147-8. 

VI, of France, starts Hundred 

Years' War, 148. 

II. of Spain, education, 249 ; 

early marriage, 249 ; tour of domin- 
ions, 250-1 ; marriage to Mary 
Tudor, 251-2 ; succeeds his father, 
253 ; his difficulties, 254-5 ; hatred 
of heresy, 256 ; relation to England 
and France, 257 ; troubles in Medi- 
terranean, 257-8; the Moriscoes, 
258-9 ; Lepanto, 260 ; don Carlos, 
260-1 ; struggle in Netherlands, 
261-4; annexationof Portugal, 265 ; 
the Armada, 266-7 ; flight of Perez, 
268 ; campaign against France, 
269 ; death, 270 ; character and 
work, 271-3 ; education compared 
with that of Gustavus Adolphus, 
277. 

V, of Spain, his claim, 321-2 ; 

War of Spanish Succession, 323-4. 

of Alsace, struggles with Philip 

Augustus, 93-5 ; death, 98. 

of Hesse Cassel, converted by 

Luther, 234 ; attempts to conciliate 
Lutherans and Zwinglians, 236 ; 
bigamous marriage, 242. 

Piedmont, war against Revolution, 
367 ; annexed by France, 377 ; re- 
stored to Savoy, 393 ; struggle for 
liberty, 394-401 ; struggle with 
Austria, 401-4 ; success under 
Cavour, 404-13. 

Pillnitz, Treaty of, 361. 

Pinta, with Columbus, 202-3, 205-6. 

Pinzon, with Columbus, 202, 205. 

Pippin of Landen, importance, 8. 

king, receives crown of Franks, 

9. 
Pitt, death, 381. 
Pitti, Lucca, leader of Mountain, 173 ; 

makes peace with Medici, 175. 



Pius IV., struggle with Philip ii., 
255-6. 

IX., his opportunity, 399-400; 

at Gaeta, 403 ; struggle with Bis- 
marck, 444. 

Poland, relation to Sweden, 275 ; 
campaign of Gustavus Adolphus, 
283-4 ; Polish Succession War, 331; 
partition of, 348-51; Grand Duchy 
of, 381 ; Napoleon's policy to, 
383-4; serfdom in, 389; reparti- 
tioned, 391 ; struggle with Russia, 

435. 

Politian, tutor of Lorenzo's children, 
186. 

Pompadour, Madame de, hatred of 
Frederic the Great, 342. 

Porto Santo, Columbus at, 196-7. 

Portugal, Moors driven out, 147 ; 
age of discovery, 192, 198, 200 ; 
Pope Martin's grant, 206 ; India, 
211; annexed by Philip il. , 265; 
refuses to join Continental System, 
382. 

Posidonius of Rhodes, geographical 
work, 198. 

Potato War, 351. 

Pragmatic Sanction, 330. 

Prague, under Charles iv., 153-4; 
siege of, 344 ; Peace of, 438. 

Pressburg, Peace of, 380. 

Printing, discovery of, 169-70. 

Prim, seeks king for Spain, 439-80. 

Protestants, origin of, 236-7. 

Prussia, cp. Brandenburg, early his- 
tory, 331-2 ; under Frederic Wil- 
liam II., 332; under Frederic the 
Great, 332-57 ; attitude to the 
French Revolution, 361 ; causes 
leading to Tilsit, 379-81 ; War of 
Liberation, 384-5; Quadruple Alli- 
ance, 391; after Congress of Vienna, 
420-1 ; reaction, 422 ; Customs 
Union, 423 ; revolution of 1845-9, 
428-30; Olmiitz, 431; rapproche- 
ment with Austria, 432-3 ; Schles- 
wig-Holstein, 435-7 ; Seven Weeks' 
War, 437-8 ; Franco - Prussian 
War, 439-42 ; the German Empire, 

443- 
Ptolemy, his cosmographies, 191, 

193. 
Public Safety, Committee of, organises 
Terror, 361 ; sends troops to 
Toulon, 365 ; power inherited by 
i consuls, 373. 



468 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 



Quadrilateral, the, held by Rad- 
etzky, 402 ; Napoleon in, afraid to 
attack, 409. 

Quadruple Alliance, formation, 391. 



Radetzky, holds Quadrilateral, 402. 

Ratisbon, Catholic League formed 
at, 234 ; attempted compromise on 
religion, 239-40 ; Truce of, 318 ; 
five days' fighting, 383. 

Raymond VI. of Toulouse, Albigensian 
crusade, 107-8. 

Reformation, foreshadowed by Fred- 
eric II., 139; influence of Renais- 
sance, 189 ; Wycliffe and Huss, 215- 
6; General Councils, 216; causes 
in Germany, 217-8 ; Luther's in- 
fluence on, 218-24 ; Counter Refor- 
mation, 245-7 ; Netherlands, 261-4; 
situation in seventeenth century, 
274; F^erdinand ii., 280; Revoca- 
tion of Edid of Nantes, 317. 

Rehbock, pretender to Brandenburg, 

151-3. 

Reichstag, parties in, 444; constitu- 
tion, 448-9. 

Renaissance, causes of, 164, 167; lines 
of development, 168-70; Lorenzo 
de' Medici typifies, 187-8 ; conse- 
quence on religion, 216. 

Reuse, declaration of, 149. 

Requesens, Don Louis de, in Nether- 
lands, 263, 

Revolution, the French, causes, 358- 
61 ; growth of violence, 361 ; the 
turning point, 366; Napoleon and, 
375.386; country tired of, 378 ; the 
peasantry and, 387 ; popular in 
Italy, 392 ; Revolution of 1848, 
428. 

Riario conspiracy, 178-9. 

Richard i. of England, conspires 
against his father, 96 ; on crusade, 
97-8 ; struggle in France, 99-100. 

of Aversa, granted Capua, 

70. 

the Fearless becomes duke, 

44 ; in custody of Frankish king, 
45-7 ; afiianced to Emma, 48 ; alli- 
ance with Duke Hugh, 48-9 ; 
gallantry at Rouen, 49 ; policy, 
50-1 ; upholds Capet against Loth- 
aire, 51 ; calls in Danes, 52-3 ; 
civilised Normandy, 54 ; work and 
its result, 54-7. 



Richelieu, peace of Stolbova, 285-6 ; 
dismissal of Wallenstein, 288 ; 
treaty with Gustavus Adolphus, 
290 ; fails to detach Bavaria, 293 ; 
his policy, 302-3 ; success of his 
schemes, 358. 

Rienzi, Cola di, flies to Charles iv. , 
155 ; Tribune of Rome, 166. 

Risorgimento, its influence, 399-400 ; 
articles by Cavour, 401-2, 

Rivoli, battle of, 367, 

Robert Guiscard arrives in Italy, 67 ; 
gains Calabria and Apulia, 70 ; 
threatens Benevento, 73 ; helps 
pope, 78, 82 ; attacks eastern em- 
pire, 88. 

Roger of Hauteville, conquers Cal- 
abria, 70. 

Rollo, gains Rouen, 41. 

Roman Empire, remains of, i; causes 
of fall, 2-4 ; restored by Charle- 
magne, 31-2 ; doctrine, 58 ; struggle 
with Papacy, 115; addition of 'Holy' 
to title, 116; Frederic 11., 141-2 ; 
position on his death, 145 ; regu- 
lated by Golden Bull, 156-8 ; result 
of Charles iv. 's policy, 164-5; 
Maximilian reforms, 218 ; Gustavus 
Adolphus' plan, 298 ; effect of 
Partition of Poland, 350 ; end of 
Holy Roman Empire, 379 ; the 
Germanic Confederation, 391. 

Rome, capital removed from, 3 ; cap- 
tured by Alaric, 4 ; visited by 
Constans, 12 ; Charlemagne, 22-3 ; 
Charlemagne's crowning, 30-1 ; 
Luther at, 224-5 > Italian occupa- 
tion, 414. 

Romulus Augustulus, last Emperor 
of the West, 4. 

Roncesvalles, battle of, 25, 

Roon, Albert von, early friendship 
with Bismarck, 427 ; army reforms, 
433-4 ; Ems telegram, 440-1. 

Rossbach, battle of, 344-5 ; effect on 
France, 358, 

Rouen under the Normans, 43, 45, 
99. 

Rousseau, popularity, 359 ; influence 
on Napoleon, 363, 

Rudolf of Hapsburg, chosen by 
electors, 145; dynastic policy 
148-9. 

of Swabia, elected in opposition 

to Henry VI,, 80-1, 

Russia, struggle with Sweden, 276, 



INDEX 



469 



279; gradual expansion, 330; state 
of, in eighteenth century, 337 ; the 
Seven Years' War, 342-7 ; Partition 
of Poland, 348-50 ; attitude to 
French Revolution, 372; League of 
the North, 374 ; Austerlitz to Tilsit, 
379-81 ; campaign of 1812, 384 ; 
Quadruple Alliance, 391 ; origin of 
Prussian Alliance, 432-5 ; Three- 
Empire-League and Dual Alliance, 

443- 
Ryswick, Peace of, 320. 



Sadowa, cp, Koniggratz. 

St. Augustine, neglected by Augus- 
tinians, 222 ; studied by Luther, 
223, 225. 

St. Bernard, work, 89. 

St. Denis, crowning of Pippin, 13, 16. 

St. Dominic, in Toulouse, 107 ; ac- 
cepted by Church, 215. 

St. Francis, accepted by Church, 215. 

St, Helena, Napoleon at, 385-6. 

St. Quentin, battle of, 254. 

Saladin, capture of Jerusalem, 90, 95. 

Salimbene, or Frederic 11., 140, 143. 

Salisbury, Earl of, defeats French 
fleet, 103 ; at Bouvines, 104. 

Salviati, Archbishop, Riario con- 
spiracy, 178-80. 

San Germano, Treaty of, 131-2. 

Marco, Medicean foundation, 

185 ; Savonarola, 189. 

Santa Cruz, advice about Armada, 
266-7. 

Maria, Columbus' flagship, 202, 

205. 

Rossa, politics, 400, 404. 

Saragossa, Charlemagne at, 25. 

Sardinia, cp. Piedmont. 

Sea, discovered by Carthaginians, 

193 ; reached by Columbus, 203. 

Savonarola, attitude to Lorenzo 
de' Medici, 187-8. 

Saxony, conquered by Charlemagne, 
1 8-3 1 ; usurpation oijus episcopale, 
217 ; leads Protestants, 287 ; refuses 
to join Gustavus Adolphus, 289 ; 
War of AustrianSuccession, 338-40 ; 
intrigues against Prussia, 342-3 ; 
Seven Years' War, 343-7. 

Sch^rer, report on Napoleon, 366. 

Sqhleswig-Holstein, war, 436-7. 

Schmalkaldic League, formation of, 
237 ; defeat at Miihlberg, 246. 



Sedan, battle ot, 441. 

Septimannia, kingdom of, 14. 

Seven Years' War, operations, 342-8 ; 

effect on France, 358. 
Sforza, Francesco, reign, 172-9. 
Siccardi Laws, 404, 414. 
Sicilian questions, Frederic ir., 132. 
Sicily, granted to Normans, 70 ; 

Tancred usurps, 97; under Frederic 

II., 1 17-124 ; Sicilian Vespers, 146 ; 

Garibaldi's expedition, 410-1. 
Sieyes, plots, 372. 

Sigismund, emperor, granted Brand- 
enburg, 163-4 ; grants it to Hohen- 

zollerns, 331. 
of Poland, becomes king, 275 ; 

attempts to return to Sweden, 276 ; 

struggle with Gustavus Adolphus, 

279-80, 283. 
Silesia, history of capture by Frederic, 

337-8, 340. 
Sixtus IV., schemes opposed by 

Lorenzo de' Medici, 177-80. 
Skytte, tutor of Gustavus Adolphus, 

276. 
Smith, Sir Sidney, opposes Napoleon, 

371-2. 
Socialists, Bismarck's struggle with, 

444-S- 

Solferino, battle of, 408. 

Spain, invaded by Moors, 9-14; dis- 
tribution at time of Charlemagne, 
14 ; Charlemagne's campaigns, 25 ; 
reconquest, 147 ; Columbus escapes 
to, 200 ; colonial possessions by 
Martin V.'s bull, 206; under 
Philip II., 248-73; Thirty Years' 
War, 281 ; Peace of Westphalia, 
307 ; Treaty of Ratisbon, 318 ; Par- 
tition Treaties, 321-3 ; attitude to 
France at Revolution, 381 ; re- 
sistance to Napoleon, 382, 389 ; 
Revolution of 1820, 393 ; Hohen- 
zollern-Sigmaringen question, 439- 
40. 

Spalatin, friend of Luther, 228. 

Spanish fury, at Antwerp, 236. 

States-General, meeting of, 360. 

Staupitz. influence over Luther, 223 ; 
sends Luther to Rome, 224-5. 

Stephen 11., crowns Frankish kings, 
13-14, 16. 

IX., work, 68. 

Stockholm, Bloody Battle of, 275. 

Stolbova, Peace of, 278-9. 

Stuhmsdorf, Treaty of, 280, 



470 LEADING FIGURES IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 



Suntal, battle of, 20. 

Sutri, synod of, 62. 

Sylvester I., pope, donation of the 
West, 5. 

II., pope, work, 60. 

III., pope, work, 61. 

Sweden, early history, 274-6 ; under 
Gustavus Adolphus, 276-98 ; Triple 
Alliance, 312 ; struggle with Russia, 
330-1 ; Seven Years' War, 342-4 ; 
Congress of Vienna, 391. 



Talleyrand, plots against Na- 
poleon, 383 ; doctrine of legitimacy, 
392. 

Tancred, Norman usurper in Italy, 

97- 
Tassilo, revolt against Charlemagne, 

26-7. 
Tchernaya, battle of, 407. 
Tetzel, sale of indulgences, 226-7. 
Teutonic Order, upholds Frederic 11. , 

129 ; connection with Prussia, 

331- 

Thaddaeus of Suessa, advocate for 
Frederic II. at Lyons, 137-8 ; death, 

139- 

Theodora, mother of popes, 59. 

Thiers, peace negotiations, 442. 

Thirty Years' War, origin, 280 ; early 
years, 284-5 ; Gustavus Adolphus, 
287-97 ; new phase, 301 ; West- 
phalia, 305. 

Tilly, general of the League, 383 ; 
at Lutter, 285 ; character, 287-8 ; 
Magdeburg, 290-1 ; Breitenfeldt, 
291-2 ; death, 294. 

Tilsit, peace of, 381. 

Tippoo Sahib, intrigues with French, 
370. 

Toscanelli, hypothesis, 198 ; corre- 
spondence with Columbus, 199- 
200. 

Toulon, siege of, 365. 

Tournai, claim to, 103. 

Trent, Council of, 246-7. 

Tribur, battle of, 78. 

Triple Alliance of 1668, 313 ; of 1883. 

443. 

Tugendbund, work of society, 384-5. 

Turenne, general, 304 ; Nordlin- 
gen, 305 ; joins court, 306 ; victory 
over Spaniards, 307 : in War 
of Devolution, 312 ; in Dutch war, 
314-5- 



Turgot, attempted reforms, 358. 

Turin, Treaty of, 410. 

Turks occupy Otranto, 182; capture 
of Constantinople, 193 ; Russian 
designs on, 349 ; opposition to 
Napoleon, 311-2 ; Treaty of Berlin, 

443- 
Tusculum, Counts of, overawe 
Papacy, 42, 59, 68. 

Ulm, capitulation, 381. 

Urban ii., pope, preaches crusade, 

88-9. 
IV., pope, offers empire to 

Charles of Anjou, 146. 
V. , pope, refuses to live at Rome, 

161-2. 

VI., at Avignon, 162. 

Utrecht, Treaty of, 323-4, 330. 



Valladolid, PhiHp 11. at, 256. 

Valmy, battle of, 361. 

Vasa, Gustavus, his work in Sweden, 
275-6. 

Vauban, fortifications, 313, 315; de- 
scription of France, 324. 

Venezuela, discovery, 209. 

Venice, rivalry with Milan, 165 ; 
hatred of Florence, 174 ; danger 
to Italy, 182 ; arrangement with 
Turks, 193 ; given to Austria, 370, 
393 ; Zurich, 409 ; Italian occupa- 
tion, 414; in Seven Weeks' War, 
437-8. 

Verdun, Partition of, 40. 

Versailles, built by Louis xiv., 311, 
316, 321 ; Treaty of, 359 ; meeting 
of states-general, 360. 

Vespucci, Amerigo, names America, 
210. 

Vexin, struggle for, 95, 99. 

Victor II., pope, death, 68. 

Emmanuel i., restoration, 393; 

resignation, 394. 

II., succeeds to throne, 

403 ; offered dictatorship of duchies, 
409 ; signs decree of union, 410 ; 
meeting with Garibaldi in Naples, 
412 ; appreciation of, 418. 

Vienna, Treaty of, 383 ; Congress of, 
385, 391, 393 ; effect on Germany, 
419. 

Villafranca, armistice of, 409. 

Visconti, seize Bologna, 161 ; death 
of last, 172. 



INDEX 



471 



Wagram, battle of, 383-4. 

Wallenstein, general, 283; advances 
to Baltic, 285 ; character and de- 
position, 258 ; recalled, 293 ; 
opposed to Gustavus Adolphus, 
294-6. 

Wallhoff, battle of, 284. 

Wartburg, festival, 421. 

Wellington, in Spain, 383-4 ; at- 
tempted murder, 392. 

Wenzel, emperor, 161, 163. 

Westphalia, kingdom of, 381 ; Treaty 
of, 305, 307, 352. 

Widukind, Saxon leader, 19-20. 

William of Orange, defeated by 
Philip II., 253 ; struggle with Spain, 
262-5 I proposed murder, 271. 

III. of England, saves Amster- 
dam, 315 ; invades England, 319 ; 
war with France, 320 ; Partition 
Treaties, 321-2. 

1. , German Emperor, first meeting 

with Bismarck, 425 ; regent, 432-3 ; 
proposed abdication, 434-5 ; Franco- 
Prussian War, 440-2 ; proclama- 
tion at Versailles, 442 ; attempted 
murder, 444 ; death, 446. 

II., German Emperor, struggle 

with Bismarck, 446. 



William of the Iron Arm, in Apulia, 

67. 

Longsword, death, 43. 

Wittelsbachs, cp. Bavaria. 

Worms, Placitum of, 40 ; Concordat 

of, 114 ; Luther at, 231-2. 
Wycliffe, foreshadows Reformation, 

215-6 ; Luther's advantage over, 

241. 

YoLAND, wife of Frederic 11., 127, 

131- 

Yussuf-el-Fekir, Abbasside ruler of 
Spain, 24. 

Zacharias, pope, grants crown to 

Pippin, 8. 
Zedlitz, struggle with Frederic the 

Great, 235-6. 
Zeno, emperor, sole emperor, 4. 
Zollverein, cp. Customs Union. 
Zurich, battle of, 372 ; Congress of, 

409. 
Zweibriicken, Duke of, opposition to 

schemes of Joseph ii., 351-2. 
Zwickau, home of anabaptists, 232, 
Zwinglians, quarrel between Zwingli 

and Luther, 236-7. 



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Period VIII. — Modern Europe. 1815-1899. 

By W. Alison Phillips, M.A., formerly Senior Scholar of St. John's 
College, Oxford. 6s. net. 



LONDON: RIVINGTONS 



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